Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean
Remarks on the Occasion of the Launch of the Poppy Campaign
Rideau Hall, Wednesday, October 25, 2006
We need only take one look at the world map to realize that we cannot take our freedom for granted. Though we are privileged to live in a country where freedom is a deeply held belief, with that privilege comes a responsibility.
The responsibility to help women, children and men whose most basic rights are being abused and whose dreams of a bright and fulfilling future have all but vanished.
It is a responsibility that others before us have taken on with a generosity that is often beyond compare and that shows the depth of their commitment.
Our veterans are those women and men who fought for an ideal of justice and freedom. It is an ideal that embodies what it means to be Canadian and is envied around the world. For us, Remembrance Day is a day to reflect on that heritage and to pay tribute to those women and men.
For me, this flower that we proudly pin to our lapels symbolizes not only great suffering but also such determined efforts to build a better world.
This flower also refers to John McCrae’s beautiful poem, which reminds us that even amid the worst atrocities, the beauty in this world will never be washed away. “In Flanders fields the poppies blow / Between the crosses, row on row.”
But this flower will mean nothing unless my daughter and all Canadian children understand how precious this struggle for freedom. How precious the memory of those whose heroic deeds are not only part of our history, but also helped to shape the very future of humanity itself.
On Remembrance Day, I invite Canadians everywhere to proudly wear the poppy next to their hearts. May these flowers transform our streets, schools and public spaces into a garden of hope.
Thank you very much.
