One week ago, I had the sincere privilege to represent our government at the national ceremony for the 80th anniversary of the Dieppe raid hosted in Windsor by Veterans Affairs Canada. It was a tremendous honour to meet three veterans at the ceremony, each of whom epitomized courage under fire and sacrificed so much to protect us.

Sapper John L. Date was presented with the National Order of the Legion of Honour at the event from Colonel Bruno Heluin of the government of France, recognizing his service with the 11th Canadian Field Regiment in the Dieppe raid.

Also recognized for their service to Canada were Arthur Boon of Perth–Middlesex, who served with the Canadian Forces on the beaches of Normandy, France, on D-Day; and Charles Davis of Windsor–Tecumseh, a proud veteran of the Normandy campaign, who landed on Juno Beach on D-Day plus four.

It was a sincere honour to meet, have dinner and speak with Mr. Date, Mr. Boon and Mr. Davis last week, and I want to thank them tremendously for their service to us. I’d like to take this opportunity as well to congratulate Mr. Davis in advance for his upcoming 100th birthday on September 27.

A special thanks to Veterans Affairs Canada for delivering a national ceremony in Windsor that demonstrated tremendous dignity and respect for the sacrifice of our veterans.