Notes for an address to District G Legion Meeting, Brockville– April 9, 2009 and to the Gananoque Legion, April 26, 2009

April 09, 2009

Thank you and good morning
Honoured Veterans, Distinguished Guests Ladies and Gentlemen
I am pleased to be here as the Member of Parliament for Leeds-Grenville at such an important event.
As a Member of Parliament I am reminded every day of the great debt that we owe you.   
It is because our Veterans served, and our soldiers continue to serve, that I can serve. 
We are the direct beneficiaries of our Veterans’ great sacrifices and achievements.
Our men and women in uniform forged this nation’s identity on the distant battlefields of a past century. 
In the two Great Wars, in the Korean War, in military operations and on Peacekeeping missions around the world, our soldiers have made Canada proud.  They’ve made us proud.
Our Veterans willingly stood in the face of oppression and tyranny to protect our shared values of  Freedom.  Democracy.  And the Rule of Law.
Our freedom has cost Canada too many of her finest young men and women.
And we have a solemn duty to never forget this.  To never forget their sacrifice.  To never forget the great debt we owe these remarkable men and women.
Today, our Veterans still unite us.
They are ordinary Canadians who have achieved extraordinary things.
And their proud tradition is being carried on by our men and women in uniform today … the best trained, most professional, and most disciplined soldiers in the world.
Our government understands the great debt we owe our Veterans and their families.  And we have shown our determination to repay that debt.
Our record since taking office in 2006 stands up to any other government’s record in the history of our country.
Through four budgets, we have set aside a total of $2.1 billion in new spending for our Veterans and their families.
New funding that is improving the benefits, the programs and the services they’ve earned and deserve.
We’ve implemented the New Veterans Charter.
We’ve adopted a Veterans Bill of Rights, and appointed Canada’s first Veterans’ Ombudsman.
We’ve extended our world-class Veterans Independence Program to more widows and survivors.
We’ve doubled our number of Operational Stress Injury clinics from five to 10 – to help our men and women and their families cope with the very real psychological trauma that comes with serving on such dangerous and difficult missions.
We’ve addressed the Agent Orange tests at CFB Gagetown.
And we’ve dedicated ourselves to remembering the sacrifice and the many accomplishments of our Veterans:
We’ve stepped up security to protect the dignity and integrity of our National War Monument and the Tomb of the Unknown soldier in Ottawa.
We’ve put in place long-term funding for the Juno Beach Centre in France;
We’ve assumed ownership and restored the Green Park Memorial in London;

And we’ve held tributes, vigils and commemorative ceremonies across our country and led official delegations to places like France, Belgium and Korea.
Since taking office, we have been doubling the number of Operational Stress Injury clinics we operate – increasing them from five clinics to 10.
Because each of us knows that freedom is not free. 
Freedom has never been free. 
It has come with a great and terrible cost to our country, and to too many of our finest men and women.
But, for too long, the human toll on our country was measured solely through the young lives lost and the physical wounds visible in our returning men and women.
Sadly, for too long, we did not see or understand the very real and lasting psychological scars of war—the emotional trauma that comes from witnessing horrors too brutal and devastating for many of us to imagine.
And this lack of understanding has produced results which were truly tragic.
Our Veterans and their families were often left to suffer in silence, unable to explain the feelings of anger and depression. 
Many of us are old enough to remember the shattered lives we saw in our own communities, following the Second World War.
We can remember classmates and neighbours whose families were torn apart by a Veteran struggling with what we now call operational stress injuries – struggling with things like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, anxieties, depression and addictions.
The good news—and there is good news—is that there is finally help for these Veterans.  And help for their families.
For the first time, Canada is taking a more comprehensive approach toward meeting the mental health needs of our Veterans, our Canadian Forces and RCMP members and their families.
Our government continues to stand behind and support our men and women in uniform.
As I said earlier, I am reminded of their sacrifice every day.
Thank you for inviting me to participate here this morning.