Last evening, the Prime Minister finished a busy day with a speech to a dinner of veterans. The speech was in Verlinghem, France, near the Belgian border. Joining the veterans at the dinner were several dignitaries. Here are the ones I spotted in the crowd: Former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson and her husband John Ralston Saul, General Rick Hillier, LGen. Andrew Leslie, Government House Leader Peter Van Loan, House of Commons Speaker Peter Milliken, Public Works Minister Michael Fortier, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Rona Ambrose, Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson Senator Joseph Day, Senator Norman Atkins, Senator Colin Kenny, Liberal Party Deputy Leader Michael Ignatieff, Conservative MP Rob Anders, Conservative MP Bev Shipley, NDP MP Joe Comartin, and Bloc Quebecois MP Roger Gaudet.
The Prime Minister was informed of the deaths of the six soldiers in Afghanistan minutes before he was to give the speech. He confirmed those deaths in his speech with the following remarks, added at the last minute:
Sadly, today has been a difficult day in Afghanistan. We’ve learned that an incident has claimed the lives of six Canadian soldiers and injured a number of others. Our hearts ache for them and their families. And I know as we gather here on Easter Sunday. Our thoughts and prayers are with them. Today’s events once more remind us of the sacrifices that our men and women in uniform continue to make to defend against those who threaten freedom, democracy and human rights.
Later in his speech, he came back to the theme of linking the sacrifices of 90 years ago to the Afghanistan mission:
New challenges face us today — global terrorism, rogue regimes, nuclear proliferation, threats as unpredictable for our generation as the two world wars were for those who had to confront them. We still live in a dangerous world. And, as Prime Minister, my thoughts these days are never far from Afghanistan where a new generation of Canadian soldiers carry Colonel McCrae’s torch.
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For these men and women, the terrain of Kandahar province today looks as desolate and dangerous as Flanders Field did 90 years ago. But those who wear the Maple Leaf on their uniform move forward, against tyranny and fear with the same courage and determination that you did in your time and that the heroes of Vimy Ridge did before you.