Petawawa, Sunday, June 25, 2006

My husband Jean-Daniel Lafond, our daughter Marie-Éden and I are delighted to be here to share this family day with you. We are also proud to be here as some of you are preparing to leave for Afghanistan.

You will be greatly missed by your families and loved ones. But the work you will be doing over there makes us proud. Because we know that you are going halfway around the world to stand up for justice and freedom, to help the Afghan people break free from tyranny and oppression.

I cannot imagine a greater act of compassion than to risk everything to help women, men and children you have never even met, who live what seems like a world away, but whose suffering we cannot ignore.

What you will be defending in Afghanistan is the ideal of a fair society, where every citizen has equal rights. It is the ideal of a society like ours, that all too often we take for granted. It is the democratic ideal to which all people of this earth should be able to aspire unimpeded.

How can I remain indifferent when I see troops deployed to the troubled regions of the world? I can’t. I cannot help but carry you in my heart. And to you, the friends and families gathered here, I can only begin to imagine your sacrifice and courage to let your loved one leave. A husband, a wife, a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, a friend. I know that you make that sacrifice out of respect for the life your loved one has chosen.

As commander-in-chief of the Canadian Forces, I am proud of all of you. Rest assured that your fellow Canadians want but one thing: for you to return home quickly, safe and sound. My thoughts go with you until you return.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.