Thank you for inviting me to be with you today.

As the Member of Parliament for Leeds-Grenville I am pleased to be able to join with the Royal Canadian Legions throughout the riding to help honour Canada’s veterans.

Remembrance Day and indeed Veteran’s Week is a time to recognize and honour Veterans who have served during war, military conflict and peace.

It is our opportunity to preserve their legacy and to encourage new generations to remember the important contributions so many brave Canadian men and women have made to our country and the world.

This year, 2010, marked the 100th Anniversary of the founding of the Canadian Navy and I was proud to represent the government of Canada at a dedication ceremony at the grave of Sir Charles Edmund Kingsmill just south of Portland.

As well, this year marked the 65th Anniversary of VJ Day. Close to 100 veterans who had served in the Burma Campaign gathered in Ottawa on August 15 to mark the anniversary of the end of the war.

More than 10,000 Canadians served in the Far East and as the war ended on August 15, 1945 thousands more were preparing to join the effort.
I am proud to be part of a government that understands the enormous and eternal debt we owe to our men and women in uniform, our Veterans and their families.
We fully embrace the duty we have—on behalf of all Canadians—to care for and support the remarkable men and women who have served and continue to serve our country with honour.
Since taking office in 2006 we have made many improvements to services for our veterans.
In his role as Veterans Affairs Minister, the Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn began another round of deliberations with veterans and has developed an action plan to bring about further changes in the way the department serves veterans.
The five part plan for this year includes:
Reviewing the disability awards lump sum payment
Reducing wait times and bureaucracy
Improving service to clients
Creating a better awareness among Canadians of the actions of our Veterans, including modern day veterans and
Increasing the participation of the private sector in commemoration.
In closing I just want to reiterate that if you need any assistance with Veterans’ or other government issues please feel free to contact my office in Brockville.
Thank you again for inviting me to be here today.