Take the time to remember

Like all of you, I’m thinking a lot this week about the sacrifices of our veterans, and the men and women who continue to serve our country.

It’s been said hundreds of times before, but it bears repeating: we owe the rights and freedoms we enjoy today to the 118,000 Canadians who have been killed in armed conflicts around the world. And there are hundreds of thousands more who have returned from those conflicts bearing the scars of their experiences.

It’s been said hundreds of times before, but it bears repeating: we owe the rights and freedoms we enjoy today to the 118,000 Canadians who have been killed in armed conflicts around the world.

This year, we’ve marked major anniversaries of several defining moments in our country’s military history. We honoured those who fought and died at Vimy Ridge 100 years ago in April. We marked the centennial of the battle at Hill 70, a lesser-known but equally important event for Canadians, in August. We’ll mark the centennial of Passchendaele on November 10.

This country’s military history goes back longer than any of us have been alive, but its significance never fades.

Every day that I get to serve as a democratically elected representative at the Legislature in Edmonton, I know I owe it all to those who have stood up against the brutal totalitarian regimes that would impose their will on us if not for our courageous Armed Forces.

It may seem like a small gesture to attend a Remembrance Day ceremony, or observe two minutes of silence, or a lay a poppy on a grave. However, it has such a tremendous impact on our community, and means so much to the families of the veterans who died and for all the Armed Forces members and veterans living all across this country.

Here in Whitecourt Ste. Anne, many communities are hosting services where you can pay your respects to those who have served our country and paid the ultimate price. On November 11th, services will be held at 11 am in Cherhill, Evansburg, Mayerthorpe, Onoway, Sangudo, Whitecourt and Wildwood. If you can’t make it out to any of these events, please take the time to stop what you’re doing at 11 a.m. this Saturday and take a few minutes to remember.

It doesn’t take long to pay your respects to those who have come before us and paid the ultimate price. I hope you will all join me in honouring their memory.

Lest we forget.