Senators' Statements

Honourable colleagues, lately, my thoughts in this chamber have turned to the people who serve their country with faithful love and affection, who give their best in service of the women and men of this nation, and who make this ultimate sacrifice of giving their lives, or the life of their son, daughter, husband or wife, so their fellow citizens can have a better life.

About 10 days ago, I had the privilege of representing the Senate of Canada at the commemorative events for the one hundredth anniversary of the Battle of Passchendaele in Belgium.

With some of our colleagues from the other chamber, young Canadians, soldiers and veterans, I had the great honour of setting foot where many Canadians died for peace during the Great War.

The Canadian soldiers who fought at Passchendaele overcame unimaginable hardships to achieve victory on that brutal and muddy field of battle. More than 4,000 Canadians lost their lives, and nearly 12,000 more were injured. It takes a great deal of courage, compassion, and love to serve one’s country so selflessly.

Today, I want to pay tribute to Alex Decoteau, Canada’s first Aboriginal Canadian police officer and a Cree soldier during the First World War, and to Mrs. Colleen Fitzpatrick, mother of a fallen soldier and the recipient of the 2016 Silver Cross Mother who was also with us in Belgium. Her son Darren died in Afghanistan a few years ago, and she has since remarkably transformed this tragedy into positive action for her community.

Just a few days ago, we lost one of our dear colleagues, the Honourable Tobias C. Enverga Jr. One of his travelling companions in Colombia said of him, and I quote:

He was a person who always smiled and put a lot of effort into his work. He was a happy soldier that worked on hard in the trenches.

In honour of him, his family, and all those who live and breathe public service, I will conclude by quoting a few verses from the Canadian poet John McCrae, because art is always an excellent way to share memories and comfort the heart and soul:

In Flanders Fields the poppies grow

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.

We are the dead: Short days ago,

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved: and now we lie

In Flanders fields . . . .