It’s fitting as we approach Remembrance Day week that I have the opportunity to speak on third reading of Bill 65, the Honouring Our Veterans Act, which amends the Remembrance Week Act, 2016.

I’d like to acknowledge the support of this proposed legislation by my caucus colleagues, the members of the official opposition, independent members and those who appeared before the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs: the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 112 Whitby; Wounded Warriors Canada, including Steven Boychyn and Philip Ralph; Chris Leahy; from the town of Whitby, Deidre Newman; and Penelope Williams. Thank you all for your participation.

At its core, the nobility and the majesty of Remembrance Day can be found in the story of ordinary Ontarians who become extraordinary for the simplest ways and reasons. They loved their province and country so deeply, so profoundly, that they were willing to give their lives to keep it safe and free. The fallen we memorialize gave their last full measure of devotion, not so we might mourn them—though we do; not so that our province might honour their sacrifice—although it does. They gave their lives so that we might live ours; so that our sons and daughters might grow up to pursue their dreams; so that a wife might be able to live a long life, free and secure; so that a mother might raise her family in a province of peace and freedom.

Rightly, each year on Remembrance Day, we say thank you to all those who gave their lives for our country, for our freedom. It is when we pay tribute to the names of those etched on the cenotaphs in towns like Whitby, cities and hamlets situated in the region of Durham and other parts of Ontario, so generations who follow remember the price of their duty.

Speaker, our hearts also go out on Remembrance Day to the families left behind: young mothers who raise their children alone, and mothers and fathers who face perhaps life’s greatest heartbreak: being told that their son or daughter has died in combat. It’s also when we honour those who served in conflicts past and current and have returned home to towns, villages and cities across our great province, their service complete.

As Ontarians, we have never looked for conflict, but we always rise to the occasion when asked to defend our ideals. Speaker, now more than ever, I think it’s important to listen to veterans, to hear their stories, to remember.

I regularly visit Whitby’s long-term-care and retirement homes at Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well as Remembrance Day, after the main ceremony at the cenotaph in the centre of the town of Whitby. It provides me with an opportunity to meet with veterans and, in some situations, sit at their bedsides and listen to their stories. I’m inspired not only by the bravery they showed all these years ago but how that bravery continues to shine in their eyes.

While the nature of war has changed over time, the values that drive our brave men and women in uniform remain constant: honour, courage, selflessness. Those values live in the hearts of everyday heroes who risked everything for us, men and women who now rest forever. My Uncle James is one of them, killed in a battle in France during World War I. Speaker, in addition to his name, the words on James’s dog tag were also those of scripture: Greater love has no other than this, than to lay down your life for your friends.

It is a debt, Speaker, we can never fully repay, but it’s a debt that we’ll never stop trying to fully repay: by remaining a province worthy of their sacrifice, by living our own lives the way the fallen live theirs, a testament that greater love has no other than this, than to lay down your life for your friends.

Speaker, Penelope Williams, who served with the Canadian Armed Forces Primary Reserve’s 734 Communication Squadron and also as a member of the NATO Veterans Organization of Canada, region of Durham chapter, had this to say during her delegation to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs:

“The act of remembrance by honouring those who died serving their country through a two-minute silence in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario is a powerful act of inclusion and recognition. The commitment of Canadians who died to preserve peace and security extends beyond our borders. Their efforts not only embody Canada’s commitment to international diplomacy, but they also demonstrate our commitment to humanity and justice.”

Our wars have won for us every hour we live in freedom, but our wars have taken from us the women and men and every hour of the lifetimes they had hoped to live. Again, that testament, that greater love, has no other than this, than to lay down your life for your friends.

God bless our veterans. God bless those who continue to serve. Lest we forget.