It was after the second battle of Ypres that John McCrae, born in the neighbouring city of Guelph, Ontario, wrote his famous poem, In Flanders Fields. “In Flanders fields the poppies blow” — The first line was scribed by McCrae in the back of an ambulance the day after laying to rest his close friend, Alexis Helmer. In Flanders Field inspired the tradition of the Remembrance Poppy, a symbol we wear to commemorate the Canadian troops that have fallen since the First World War. While many of us don the red flower on November 11th, how often do we stop to think about what the Poppy signifies? The Poppy is a symbol recognizing each fallen soldier, the people who sacrificed their lives to protect our country, allowing each and every one of us to call ourselves Canadians. I ask you not only to wear a poppy close to your heart each Remembrance Day, but also to keep the memories of our soldiers close to your heart. Lest we forget the suffering and hardships each service men and women endured and continue to endure to protect this country.
We wear the poppy to memorialize fallen Canadian service men and women, but, what does it mean to be “Canadian”? Some may describe being Canadian as enjoying a Tim Horton’s coffee in the morning and watching Hockey Night in Canada each night; going to ski hills in the winter and beaches in the summer; shoveling our driveways with an ergonomic Canadian Tire shovel; practising the religion of our choice without fear of prosecution; protesting on the lawn of our Parliament in the morning and lying peacefully on it in the afternoon. Being “Canadian” has much less to do with which coffee we drink or which car we drive. It has much more to do with the fact that we have the ability to choose which coffee we drink and which cars we drive. We, as Canadians, have fundamental rights and basic freedoms that we should be proud of and never take for granted. We are the lucky ones in the world with the ability to choose. That is why I choose to keep Remembrance Day close to my heart.
This day is special to me for many reasons, but one of the most important reasons is my brother. He has been a member of the Canadian Forces for many years and has served a tour of duty in Afghanistan as a Combat Engineer. It is unnerving to realize the closeness to death our soldiers face each day. That unnerving feeling is amplified knowing that each and every one of them puts their lives on the line voluntarily and without question. When we send our soldiers to war, we not only affect their lives, but the lives of their family and friends. Families constantly fear for the safety of our soldiers, hoping their next satellite call will be soon. However, a terrifying reality looms in our mind; the reality that the next phone call may never come and that our last goodbye might be our final goodbye. I know too much about the feeling of anxiousness and anxiety that accompanies having a family member go to war. We must not only remember the soldiers that continue to fight but also the families that support them. For every soldier fighting on the front lines, there are Mothers and Fathers, Brothers and Sisters, and Aunts and Uncles worrying about them, hoping for their safe return. I’d like to thank institutions like the Military Family Resource Centres (MFRC) for supporting our soldiers and their families.
Remembrance Day ceremonies vary across the country. While small town ceremonies typically don’t include things like the 21-gun salute or a flypast by the Royal Canadian Air force, there are numerous traditions which are always followed. I want to emphasize two of these: the playing of our national anthem, O Canada, and the two minutes of silence that follows the bugling of Last Post. These two moments are of stark contrast. The first is a song everyone proudly sings together, “With glowing hearts we see thee rise, / The True North strong and free!”, while the second is a moment of solemn remembrance. O Canada is a song to remind us of why we fought and why we continue to fight. The French translation of our nation anthem may express it even better “Car ton bras sait porter l’épée, / Il sait porter la croix!” — “As is thy arm ready to wield the sword, / So also is it ready to carry the cross.” So many of our citizens eagerly protecting our land, so many of them ready to sacrifice their lives for our country. The two minutes of silence are to remember those who lost their lives for our country. It is a time to recognize their pain and suffering and realize how the lives of the fallen have affected you. It is a time to thank our veterans, not just those of the First World War and Second World War but the veterans of every Canadian conflict and Peacekeeping mission.
Even though Remembrance Day has past, it is never too late to thank our service men and women for all their hard work and recognize those who sacrificed their lives so you have the privilege to call yourself Canadian. I know I am proud to be Canadian and thank everyone who has fought to keep this country the True North strong and free.
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