National Flag of Canada Day and Extra Relevance of Flag Given Current Geopolitical Situation

Honourable senators, I rise today, on the last sitting — during the final moments of this particular sitting — before National Flag of Canada Day, to speak to Senator Cardozo’s inquiry calling the attention of the Senate to the importance and relevance of Canada’s flag.

I apologize that I’m catching you at the eleventh hour, but the timing is very relevant. Let us consider the Canadian flag, first flown on February 15, 1965. It is even older than me. The red and white stripes and the red maple leaf have become an unmistakable symbol of Canada.

It is thanks to the creative design work of George Stanley, who took inspiration from the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston and substituted the college badge with a red maple leaf.

So, you see, colleagues, there has always been attachment, affinity and pride felt by the Canadian military towards Canada’s distinctive flag, and the maple leaf, as a uniting symbol for Canadians, which is recognized around the world.

However, even before George Stanley, the men and women of the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force fought and died for Canada while wearing a maple leaf.

First authorized on July 10, 1915, the cap badge of the 77th Battalion (Ottawa) of the Canadian Expeditionary Force featured a wreath of maple leaves. Recruited in and around Ottawa, the 77th Battalion sailed for Europe in June 1916. Think about those soldiers, colleagues, because many of them would have passed through this very building, taking the train from here to Montreal, Quebec, or to Halifax and onward to Britain and Europe.

Speaking of sailing, battered by waves and harassed by U‑boats, Canada’s Sheepdog Navy helped turn the tide in the Battle of the Atlantic during the Second World War. Painted on the funnels of those ships was a maple leaf — a tradition that continues to this day.

When the Korean War broke out in 1950, in a matter of only two weeks after the initial invasion of South Korea, the Royal Canadian Air Force transport aircraft, with their distinctive maple leaf roundel, arrived in the Korean theatre.

Everywhere the Canadian military has been, there has been a maple leaf. So, it really is no wonder then that the maple leaf features so prominently on Canada’s flag.

Colleagues, I know you know that I’m a 34-year veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces. I may have worn my heart on my sleeve about this, but that was because I was wearing the Canadian flag on my shoulder, and I can tell you that I did so with immense pride.

When I joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1989, the Cold War was coming to an end. However, it was not long after, in 1990, that Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. In 1991 we were deployed to the Persian Gulf War under the umbrella of Operation Friction. The Canadian medical component for this was known as Operation Scalpel. As a critical care nursing officer, I deployed with 1 Canadian Field Hospital to Al Qaysumah in Saudi Arabia, near the Kuwait border — or most of our team did.

We were the only Canadian ground forces deployed to that conflict in support of coalition ground forces.

We served under the constant threat of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear warfare while also trying to take on the austere desert conditions and burning oil wells. Later this month, I will join a group of fellow veterans in Halifax to commemorate the thirty-fifth anniversary of the end of that conflict and to proudly honour our service.

More than 4,000 Canadians served in the Persian Gulf region in support of the American-led, United Nations-mandated international coalition. When the American cruiser the USS Princeton was struck with sea mines and needed to be safely escorted out of the area, the task was assigned to Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship Athabaskan. In addition to being well suited for the role, Athabaskan had something few other ships in the region did — a recognizable symbol of a trusted ally, a red maple leaf, on its funnel.

After escorting the Princeton safely out of harm’s way, the crew of the Athabaskan sent over several cases of beer to the dry U.S. Navy ship to help the crew relax. Talk about helping out a friend in need.

Honourable senators, that allyship between Canada and the United States has been threatened lately, not by the men and women who wear the uniform, but by politicians, and it pains me, as a veteran who has seen Canadians step up time and again, to hear someone say that America’s allies, especially Canada, have not been there with the United States in all of our times of need.

Canada was one of the first countries on the ground in Afghanistan, and more than 40,000 Canadian Armed Forces personnel served there during the over-ten-year mission — including myself — all proudly wearing the Canadian flag, muted as it may have been, but still there. In 2005, at the NATO Force Generation Conference for Afghanistan, the Canadian representative said three simple words that would have an immense impact on Canada: “We’ll take Kandahar.”

This was one of the most complex and dangerous areas of responsibility in Afghanistan and a known hotbed for the Taliban insurgency. Taking responsibility for Kandahar was a monumental undertaking for the Canadian Armed Forces, but it spoke volumes about their professionalism and showed what Canada is willing to do for an ally.

Colleagues, in my office hangs a painting of a Canadian flag. It was painted by a fellow veteran and friend, Petty Officer 1st Class (Retired) Derrick Nearing. He was a physician assistant and served on multiple coalition combat tours, including multiple times in Afghanistan. If you haven’t seen it, affixed to that painted Canadian flag is a series of plastic soldiers, those little green men that kids tend to play with, and near the very top of this canvas, with this background of the Canadian flag, is a soldier falling downward, the largest symbol. This represents the events of September 11, 2001, and the Twin Towers falling. If you look in the very middle, based on a very thin azure-blue background, there is a straight line in the middle, of little figures painted gold. These represent the 158 members of the Canadian Armed Forces who were killed in Afghanistan. More sobering is what is below that line. In an area covered in darkness, a chaotic affixing of plastic soldiers represents those countless Canadian Armed Forces members who have lost their lives to suicide since coming home.

And it didn’t have to be like that. Canada was not directly attacked by al-Qaeda or the Taliban on September 11, but we as a nation decided to step up and stand shoulder to shoulder with our closest friend and ally, the United States — the Canadian and American flags side by side.

In one social media post sent to me recently by a friend and fellow Canadian veteran, an American veteran described Canada’s decision to take responsibility for Kandahar as:

. . . akin to a welterweight in a rowdy bar fight crew taking on one of the big tough guys from across the room.

In that same post, the retired U.S. Army colonel pays tribute to the Canadian Armed Forces, describing us as “raised to fight while wearing ice skates” — and, I would add, all the while bearing the Canadian flag proudly on our shoulders.

The retired colonel also recognized the sacrifices of Canadians in Afghanistan. In particular, I want to recognize Master Corporal Byron Greff, the last Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan. Colleagues, I was there, and I remember the day Master Corporal Greff was killed. It was October 29, 2011, in Kabul.

I was with my team of American and Canadian medical personnel working at the Afghan National Military Hospital. Despite the explosion being kilometres away, I could see the plumes of smoke rising from the blast site where the suicide bomber targeted a NATO bus that contained Master Corporal Greff. Fearing a secondary attack, I was required to lead the evacuation of my team to the safety of our camp, which I note was the United States Forces Afghanistan headquarters camp. When I think back to my time in uniform and to days like that, I know that America’s friends and allies did step up for our once-shared values.

I would proudly look in the eyes of the loved ones of the 20 multinational personnel and one dog killed on that bus that day in 2011 to say thank you for all that NATO stepped up to do, but especially to my Canadian colleagues. Canadians proudly wear our flag and continue to serve this great country, and I cannot help but mention that this past Monday, Gunner Sebastian Halmagean, who died last month in Latvia, was laid to rest in his hometown of Hamilton, Ontario. Just before the casket was lowered into the earth, the Canadian flag, which had been draped over the casket, was ceremonially folded and presented to Gunner Halmagean’s family as a sign of respect from a grateful nation.

You see, colleagues, not only do the members of the Canadian Armed Forces wear the Canadian flag on our shoulders — as it’s a rallying point for pride, belonging and togetherness — but those who die in service of Canada also come home draped in that flag. The flag is the one constant in the lives of those who serve, even in death. It is under the maple leaf that Canada’s sailors, soldiers and aviators serve, reinforcing the fact that, first and foremost, the Canadian Armed Forces serve and protect not the government but Canada and Canadians.

Senators, in an Olympic year, I think we need to end on a high note. It’s very appropriate that we close with the last two verses from “The Maple Leaf Forever,” and no, I will not be singing. I did that once and will never be the same again. Those verses are:

Oh, Maple Leaf, around the world,

You speak as you rise high above,

Of courage, peace and quiet strength,

Of the Canada I love.

Remind us all our union bound,

By ties we cannot sever,

Bright flag revered on every ground,

The Maple Leaf forever!

Thank you.