"Freedom, justice and equality are the bricks and mortar of Canadian society. They are the keys to our great national success story. They are our birth right and a precious legacy that we hold in trust for future generations. And their promotion in the world is a common cause that we have pursued with allied nations since Confederation.

Each year, Remembrance Day is time for all Canadians to reflect on the heavy price we have paid - generation after generation - to defend our values. To feel pride at the courage and valour that Canadian soldiers have shown on battlefield after battlefield, in crisis after crisis. Passchendaele, Ypres, Vimy, Normandy, Ortona, the Scheldt, Kapyong, the Gulf War, Bosnia are a Canadian honour roll of bravery and sacrifice.

Above all, Remembrance Day is about giving solemn thanks to those who risked everything so that we could continue to know the blessings of freedom. Who have given their courage, their youth, and, tragically, in too many cases, their lives. As a people, we owe them - and the families and loved ones they left behind forever - a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid.