Speaking Notes for

Albina Guarnieri, P.C., M.P.

Event on the Occasion of the Year of the Veteran at the Canadian War Museum

Honoured Veterans, Parliamentarians, Distinguished Guests:

Well, it was just over one year ago that we announced that 2005 would not be just another year. We realized that through the ages, remembrance had sadly started to dim in Canada.

So we needed renaissance and 2005 would be a renaissance year for remembrance in Canada. It would a year to rediscover the masterpieces of our history, and reconnect with the Veterans who lent the hands that shaped the world.

We dedicated a year to pay tribute to Veterans. We chose 2005 as a year to breathe new life into commemoration. We have taken this time to make the link between the past and the future, taking the richness of our history as a source of inspiration for the future.

In many ways this Canadian War Museum is a work of art in itself, and it houses great works of history and since May 8th, thousands upon thousands of Canadians have come to learn, to stand in wonder at our military achievements and stand in honour of our Veterans.

I want to thank Mr. Rabinovitch and his officials for partnering with us today and for building a lasting tribute to our Veterans in the Year of the Veteran.

We are the only country in the world which has dedicated a year in which to pay tribute to Veterans.

As we approach the end of the Year of the Veteran, we look back on the work that will live on into the future.

We have struck new coins, cast new memorials, issued new stamps and Year of the Veteran Canada Savings Bonds.

We have begun the work of restoring our monuments including the largest project of its kind at Vimy Ridge. And we have brought the treasures of our history back to the surface of the Nation's consciousness.

But as we gained, we also lost so much this year as well.

This past Saturday, our nation lost its last living connection to a noble generation of Canadians who fought in the trenches of France and Belgium in the First World War.

Clarence Laking died at Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre in Toronto at the age of one hundred and six.

In 1917 in Campbellville, Ontario, Mr. Laking could not know how long he his life would be and risked a much shorter life at only 18 years of age.

He answered the call to arms at a time when he had to know the great feats and awful fates of so many men his age, from his town, from his country.

Soon he would see the history they made up close and personal as a Private on the front line in France for which he earned the French Legion of Honour and the Golden Jubilee Medal.

He served as a signaler, with the precarious job of stringing telephone wire through the trenches. He often ventured to the edge of No-Man's Land to see where the first shell landed and telephone the information to gunners at the rear.

His telephone wire was his only link to the men in the trenches. In recent years, he continued to be the only living link to their memory.

And earlier this summer, we lost Canada's last living Victoria Cross recipient, Smokey Smith - who was also the Patron for the Year of the Veteran - a portrait of the humble heroes that we honour in the Year that was Smokey's last, but a year that would ensure that his memory will last for decades to come.

Smokey was our Patron and another iconic veteran. Mr. Cliff Chadderton was an outstanding Honorary Chair, tirelessly working for veterans, keeping us at attention and keeping the issues of Veterans front and centre on the public agenda. Thank you Cliff.

General Charles Belzile chaired our Working Group on the 60th Anniversary of the end of the Second World War, and again, demonstrated his leadership. His devotion to the cause of commemoration is without equal and is the driving force behind his iron will and creativity. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

John Gardam chaired our Seventh Book of Remembrance Advisory Committee and for his wise guidance and expertise, we are truly grateful. Thanks to his counsel and duty, he has made this honour a permanent treasure.

And then there are the twin peaks of our department. Our Deputy Minister Jack Stagg and the Dominion President of The Royal Canadian Legion, Mary Ann Burdett.

When I first arrived at Veterans Affairs last July, Jack and I convinced each other that this year could be the bridge between the past and the future.

That this could be the year to bring the future the power of the past. This would be the year to remind Canadians that our history is our identity. And what a history our Veterans have given us all.

But that is not all. This was also the year when we could cross the divide between what our future Veterans need and what we could deliver.

And with Jack being the carpenter of consensus driven by a caring heart, we were able to deliver the Veterans Charter. But I often say the Charter was really designed by Veterans, for Veterans and one of the chief architects was our own Mary Ann Burdett. She was certainly an able advocate and Duane Daly and her teamcertainly made their imprint on the lives of Veterans yet to come.

I am proud to have worked with these individuals. Their passion to revive the flame of gratitude we have for our Veterans can make us all proud.

I also want to acknowledge the extraordinary work of the employees of Veterans Affairs Canada as well as our partners in other agencies and federal departments who contributed to the success of this Year.

If any one doubted that Canadians are passionate about their history or their Veterans, then they really need thicker glasses to see the Year of the Veteran pins that more than one million Canadians wore this year.

During this past year, Canadians have expressed more than ever their gratitude toward the men and women who served our nation in times of war and peace.

Wherever Canadians were free to travel they would see a reminder of who to thank for that freedom.

Members of the Canadian Forces, RCMP and even the security personnel at airports wore the pin and wore a duty to remember.

But they were far from alone. All across Canada, Canadians looked at the Year of the Veteran as a duty to honour.

Community groups, corporations small and large, municipal, provincial and territorial governments, the sports community, students, Scouts and Cadets - so many have responded, have remembered and their efforts have really made our year.

Scouts presented 150,000 personal thank-you badges to Veterans on behalf of Canada's youth,

Air Canada aired our Year of the Veteran video on all its domestic and international flights;

And Cineplex Galaxy Odeon in their 172 cinemas; Tim Horton's covered its trays with a special liner honouring Veterans; the 6 Canadian teams of the National Hockey League paid special tribute to our Veterans.

The Year of the Veteran logo will continue to be visible past the Year's end.

Under the umbrella of Hockey Canada, the Canadian men's and women's national teams will score with Veterans by sporting the logo on their helmets for the remainder of the 2005-2006 season. Speaking of umbrellas, Wal-Mart Canada sold attractive Year of the Veteran umbrellas and donated the proceeds to the Juno Beach Centre Foundation.

And of course Historica reeled off another achievement as it produced 8 new Heritage Minutes to enhance understanding of our Veterans' achievements.

Through Historica and the wider media we set out to reach Canadians. We have received more than 1000 requests from journalists and broadcasters for information about events happening throughout the year.

In fact media coverage during Veterans' Week was up more than 55 percent from the previous year.

We saw in the media this year a sincere appreciation and a reflection of the public appetite to learn more about their history.

And when people wanted to know about the Year of the Veteran they would find only 20 references on Google in January. Today, using those same words, more than 225,000 entries would pop up.

And this year our department had more than 3.4 million visitors to our web site, each spending more than 15 minutes per visit. So in the Year of the Veteran, Canadians spent about a million hours connected to Veterans through this site alone.

Here are some of the emails we received from these Canadians:

From a federal public servant: "I have worked on Remembrance Day in assisting with the setting up of the Cenotaph in Ottawa for 16 of my 23 years of service for this great country.

I always thought I was a strong man in heart and soul. But I believe the Lord has given me the ability to cry once a year and that day is November 11th.

I can't tell you what veterans mean to me but I guess my tears are my way of saying thank you and God bless everyone of you".

From a Canadian Forces Member: "I came back recently severely injured on a mission overseas. I am still dealing with what I endured in combat. I have utmost respect for all of you who have faced the horrors and tragedies of total war. I am so grateful that because of your sacrifices, we have a better world to live in. Several times, during my own missions, I remembered the witness accounts of the returning airmen, soldiers, and sailors I had read in the past. It gave me courage to pursue the mission to the maximum of my abilities. At the worst times, when I just wanted to let go and die, I felt the encouragement of fallen Veterans' prayers giving me strength and courage to survive. I thank you all with all my heart."

Finally, from a ten year-old student in Edmonton, under the heading of Just Because:

"Just because you did what you did for us in the war and still do for us now, is why I had to write to you… Just because I am a kid doesn't mean that I don't understand.

Just because you are getting older and may think that we don't care is every reason to say that we do care. Just because you were there fighting is why I am here now - happy and free.

The Year of the Veteran is coming to an end, but our gratitude to Veterans remains eternal. We will embark on a new era to build upon all that we have accomplished this year.

And of course this Spring, the Year of the Veteran had its own offspring. The New Veterans Charter received unprecedented support and was passed into law in less than a week.

We hope we can start delivering the better future the Charter promises on time as early as April 2006.

So it has indeed been a year to remember our past and remember our duty to the future and future veterans.

For me it has been a year to get to know all of you. To meet Smokey Smith and Charlie Fox and Clare Laking and really understand that service to Canada didn't end in the wars, that so many of you carried a sense of duty and commitment in every endeavour and never dimmed your loyalty to each other and the nation you served.

Now the New Year, of course will bring new things, hopefully only good things particularly in late January. But as we have often said this year, that in the Year of the Veteran we lit a pilot light.

And it is up to us and everyone who follows us to fuel a future where the flame of remembrance burns bright -- where the future is bright for future Veterans and where Canadian share a future that never forgets.

Veterans this has been your year and my great privilege to have served those who have served Canada.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.