Prime Minister Harper lends support to fundraiser for Valcartier military families

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Colonel LaFlamme and members of the host committee,
Minister Verner,
Esteemed parliamentary colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,
And especially the military families,

It is for you that we’re here today.

We don’t say it often enough: the parents, spouses and children of our soldiers are heroes in their own right, just like the women and men serving in our armed forces overseas.

I’ve met with many of our soldiers in the field, and I admire each and every one of them for their patriotism and their dedication to the cause of freedom and human rights.

But I know that their friends and loved ones back home are always in their thoughts as well.

Our troops get the strength they need for the hard, dangerous work we ask them to do from the support they get back home.

So my job – and our government’s job – is to support the families just as much as we support the troops.

After all, it’s our values, principles and reputation that they’re defending so courageously in foreign lands.

This reputation has been enhanced immeasurably by Canada’s security and reconstruction efforts in Southern Afghanistan’s volatile Kandahar region.

After decades of war and brutal political repression, our military personnel, our diplomats and our aid workers, together with their allies in the 36 countries participating in the UN mission, are rekindling the hope of a better future in this long-suffering land.

Girls can go to school now,

Women can exercise the same rights as men,

The population can elect its leaders,

Entire communities are being rebuilt,

And a viable economy is beginning to take root.

Quebecers in particular can take special pride in the women and men of the Royal 22nd, who are writing another glorious chapter in the history of this regiment.

I’m sure you’re following the news as intently as I am.

But sometimes it would be nice if the media reported the other story, your story, on life here in Valcartier.

Because for each soldier deployed in the field, there’s a family here in Canada with a mother or father, a son or daughter and a sister or brother.

Military life can be a hard life. It’s hard for our service men and women to be far from home for months at a time, and it’s hard on the families waiting at home.

But I’ve spoken to soldiers stationed overseas, and I can tell you one thing:

They all feel better knowing that their loved ones are being taken care of back home.

And that’s thanks to organizations like the Military Family Resource Centre right here in Valcartier.

The Centre can lend a helping hand to families in need.

It offers a host of critical services, like emergency childcare, advice and employment assistance.

The Canadian Forces are truly a family, a family that looks after its own.

We know that the Afghans are ordinary citizens, just like us.

They want the same things as we do. To live in peace and offer their children a better life.

That’s the cause you’re supporting when you support our troops.

And this mission would simply be impossible without your support.

Military families have one of the most vital roles in the entire Canadian Forces: You keep up our troops’ morale.

You are their biggest support, their most direct support. You personify what their country means to them, and it is this image they take with them everywhere they go.

Once again, thank you for letting me be here with you today.

I’d like to thank Canada’s military families.

And thanks as well to the Military Family Resource Centre for making this evening possible.

In closing, I’d like to assure you that you can always count on myself and the members of my government to support you during this crucial period of your lives.

We are every bit as proud of you as we are of our soldiers.

And we will always be by your side – just as we’ll always be by theirs.

All News

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