Good morning. Just on behalf of the government side of the House, I would also like to welcome the Tibet delegation here to Ontario. It was a wonderful bilateral, bipartisan meeting we had this morning.

It’s my pleasure to welcome to the Legislature this afternoon Caroline Tolton from the Vimy Ridge Foundation, as well as Craig Oliver, Shelly Sing, Vic Sing and PJ O’Neill from the Royal Canadian Legion, District D. Welcome to your House.

It is an honour to rise in this House today to mark the 21st Vimy Ridge Day. Recognized annually on April 9, this day commemorates the members of the Canadian Armed Forces who were killed or wounded during the Battle of Vimy Ridge and reminds us of the courage and sacrifice shown by all who have fought to secure our freedoms and our country, whether it was on the slopes of Vimy Ridge, the beaches of Normandy, in Korea, the Middle East, or anywhere in between.

Speaker, 107 years ago today, on a cold and snowy Easter Monday outside the village of Arras in northern France, the four divisions of the Canadian Armed Forces assembled. Fighting together for the first time as one, they faced a formidable task: to dislodge the entrenched and fortified German forces from Vimy Ridge and to secure the crucial high ground for the Allies.

Prior to Canada’s advance in April 1917, the Allies had made numerous attempts to capture the ridge, all of which ended with high casualties and the ridge remaining in German hands. The most notable of these efforts came in the fall of 1915, when both the French and British launched an offensive with the same objective faced by Canada two years later: to dislodge the enemy and secure the ridge for the Allies. This attempt was met with fierce resistance and led to over 150,000 Allied casualties.

Speaker, 100,000 men strong, and armed with meticulous planning, new tactics and lessons learned from the British and French, Canada’s four divisions stood ready to do what had previously proven impossible. At 5:43, as dawn broke, on Monday April 9, 1917, a massive artillery campaign began firing. Heavy artillery hammered German defensive positions while light field guns fired a mere 100 yards in front of advancing soldiers, providing much-needed cover for their advance. Just before 6:30 a.m., three of the four Canadian divisions had secured their first objective, and by mid-afternoon, they had reached their second objective.

On the morning of April 10, fresh reinforcements were brought to the front to assist in the next wave of the attack. After an intense artillery bombardment, Hill 135 and the town of Thélus had been captured, and all that remained by day’s end was the fortified German high point on Hill 145.

After intense fighting on April 11 and into April 12, the Canadians were finally able to dislodge the Germans from their fortifications on Hill 145, brought on by yet another artillery barrage from the British. By sundown on the 12th, Vimy Ridge had been secured for the Allies and would remain in Allied hands until the end of the war. The battle was over. And the impossible had been realized.

Nevertheless, when the dust finally settled, the true cost of Vimy Ridge came to light, with the four divisions suffering over 10,000 casualties, including the 3,600 fatalities and the over 7,000 soldiers who were wounded.

And while the price paid for this victory was great, the importance of Canada’s success at Vimy Ridge cannot be overstated. Not only were they able to do what had previously proved unattainable, but news of this achievement spread up and down the Western Front. And before long, Canadians were viewed by allies and enemies alike as a formidable and independent fighting force. To quote former British Prime Minister Lloyd George, “Whenever the Germans found the Canadian Corps coming into the line, they were prepared for the worst.”

Canada’s story, not unlike the stories of other countries, is made up of moments and events that forever alter the nation’s fabric. While not always obvious at first, upon further reflection, the significance of these points in time becomes increasingly clear.

It can be said and has been said that on the slopes of Vimy Ridge that day, Canada emerged as a nation unto itself and one that was distinct from our British cousins.

In his memoirs on World War I, a brigadier general and member of this Legislative Assembly of Ontario for the riding of Kingston wrote about the Battle of Vimy Ridge, saying, “In those few minutes, I witnessed the birth of a nation.”

As a day of remembrance, Vimy Ridge Day calls on to us to take a moment to pause and reflect on those who made the ultimate sacrifice to secure the ridge all those years ago, and on all who have worn the Maple Leaf and served the cause of freedom. The freedoms we enjoy each and every day have been paid for through the courage, sacrifice and loss shown by brave Canadians from coast to coast to coast. Vimy Ridge Day is a reminder that the act of remembrance is not confined to 11 days in November, but rather is an ongoing and year-round process.

Today, nearly 107 years since the Battle of Vimy Ridge, we no longer have any veterans left who were there and lived through the realities of those days. Nevertheless, we all share in the responsibility to keep their stories and experiences alive and to remind the next generation of their sacrifices.

In February, I was proud to host a Remembrance Day round table alongside the Minister of Education. Together, we were joined by representatives of the Royal Canadian Legion, Historica Canada, the True Patriot Love Foundation and the Vimy Ridge Foundation, as well as members of the Canadian Armed Forces and Cadets Canada—an organization that is very close to my heart, as I was a part of them for a number of years. As a group, we discussed the importance of keeping the essence of Remembrance Day alive, especially for youth and young people, as more and more time passes since these conflicts. We also discussed the need to reframe how remembrance is approached. And while a century has passed since Vimy Ridge, veterans continue to walk among us, having served in Canada’s more recent engagements as peacekeepers in the Congo, Somalia, Rwanda, as well as in the ongoing fight against ISIS and alongside our allies in the war in Afghanistan. We have a shared responsibility to acknowledge the sacrifice and courage by those who are with us, in the same way we do for those who have fought at Vimy Ridge, in World War I and World War II.

As a government, we remain committed to raising awareness and to ensuring Ontario’s young people can engage with this history in a way that reflects Canada’s more recent military history, and is informative, engaging and impresses upon them the significance of moments like the Battle of Vimy Ridge, not just to the war effort, but to a moment that fundamentally impacted Canada’s growth and development into the country we all live in today.

A little over two weeks ago, the House voted to pass the Murray Whetung Community Service Award Act following third reading, and it awaits Her Honour’s royal assent. This new honour and the legacy of Mr. Whetung—one of over 7,000 Indigenous veterans who fought for Canada during the First World War and Second World War. Once established, the award in his honour will recognize an outstanding air, army and sea cadet from each of Ontario’s cadet squadrons who have gone above and beyond for volunteerism and contributions in their community.

In November, my colleague the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development announced an investment of over $4 million to provide men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces who are transitioning to civilian life with access to skills training and resources to find new, in-demand jobs and careers.

Our government knows that we must continue to educate the next generation on the sacrifices and all that our veterans do, but also that we must empower and support those who have served courageously so that they too may find success and opportunity upon returning to civilian life.

Speaker, in closing, I want to leave this House with a line from Canada’s most famous wartime poem, In Flanders Fields by John McCrae: “To you from failing hands we throw / The torch; be yours to hold it high.”

On Vimy Ridge Day and every day, let us continue to carry the torch forward, to honour the memory and courage of those who fought and died for our freedoms, and to recommit ourselves to keeping the stories and the memories of those who have fought and died for our freedoms alive for the next generation and generations to follow.

Lest we forget.