MLA Conroy pays her respects

By Katrine Conroy

On November 11 we remember the men and women who have served and continue to serve our country during times of war, conflict and peace. We honour the more than 1,500,000 Canadians who have served our country and the more than 100,000 who have died. They gave their lives so that all of us may live in peace.

On November 11 we remember the courage and sacrifice of those who served their country and we also remember that it is our responsibility to continue to work towards the peace that so many died trying to protect.

John McCrae was a Canadian surgeon in the First World War who tended to the injured in the trenches. The day before he wrote his famous poem one of his friends was killed and buried in a makeshift grave with a wooden cross. Wild poppies had already begun to grow between the crosses that covered the landscape. John McCrae gave those who had died a voice through his poem.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

- John McCrae

Mayor’s Remembrance Day message

By Karen Hamling

I can’t say for sure, but would venture to say that a large part of my commitment to Remembrance Day is due to being raised in a family where my father, who was a training officer, spent his working life in the armed service. Living on army bases, you become acutely aware of what is happening in the world around you.

We all need times when we are reminded of how fortunate we are to have freedom to move, freedom of speech, the right to vote and many more freedoms that we take for granted on a daily basis. How often do we hear the phrase “it’s my right”. That’s not an option in all parts of the world. Remembrance Day is that reminder. Whatever feelings we may have about war, it’s important that we take the time to remember those who fought for our rights and freedoms. It’s important that we recognize and honour those who died so that we enjoy what Canada offers today.

In the past few years, Canada has lost far too many men and women who are fighting to protect and offer peace in other parts of the world. We need to honour their memories as well as all who we have lost to war in the past.

Our duty to Remember

By Jim Abbott

My Remembrance Day will be spent in Cranbrook this year. On behalf of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Canadian government, I want to thank those who have served, and who continue to serve our country.

On November 11, we remember the generations of Canada’s best and brightest who have answered the call of duty and served our country. From World War I, when Canada first proved our strength and determination as a young nation, to our work in Kandahar and around the globe today, the constant has always been the courage and sacrifice of our brave men and women in uniform.

For the rest of us, whose freedom is rooted in the sacrifice of both the past and present generations, it is our duty to remember. That’s why, on Remembrance Day in communities across Canada, thousands of families will stand before memorials to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of Canada.

Each Canadian standing in the cold November morning will have personal memories — some shared, some private — of those who we pause to remember.

The grandparents and great-grandparents who crossed oceans to fight on the front lines of Europe to break the grip of tyranny. The sons and daughters who stood between an unsteady peace and the renewed spark of conflict. The husbands, wives, brothers and sisters who work each day to bring peace and stability to war-torn Afghanistan.  Those here at home who make their own sacrifice as they support family members deployed across the country and around the world.

On November 11 we remember these Canadians, past and present, for their courage, their sacrifice and their defence of Canadian values.

It is a great privilege for me to represent the citizens of Kootenay Columbia and on their behalf I say thank you – thank you veterans, thank you families, your sacrifices are the foundation of or nation.

Lest we forget.