Released on November 9, 2016
Deputy Premier and Education Minister Don Morgan, along with Provincial Secretary Nadine Wilson, joined dignitaries and representatives of the provincial public service at the Legislative Building this morning to pay tribute to our province’s veterans and those who gave their lives in time of war and service of peace.
“Today we gather to pay tribute to Saskatchewan’s veterans, including those members of the public service who answered the call to arms,” Morgan said. “We are compelled to remember the depth of the sacrifices they and their families have made in service to our country and to peace in our world.”
During the service, the Canadian Armed Forces presented the Government of Saskatchewan with the Afghanistan Book of the Fallen to memorialize the 158 Canadians soldiers who gave their lives during the war in Afghanistan. The Afghanistan Book of the Fallen will be added to the Legislative Library. Saskatchewan residents are invited to visit the Legislative Library to view the Books of Remembrance, which will be on display during Veterans’ Week.
The Afghanistan Poppy Memorial was on display at the service. The memorial was constructed from a burned out Badger Armoured Fighting Vehicle and made with poppies from the Canadian Armed Forces’ last Remembrance ceremony in Kandahar in 2011. Each poppy in the memorial represents a Canadian serviceman or servicewoman who died in Afghanistan. Residents can view the Afghanistan Poppy Memorial at the Legislative Building until November 11.
Following the service, the Provincial Secretary laid a wreath at the Saskatchewan War Memorial, which is located on the Legislative grounds to the west of the Legislative Building. The memorial lists the names of Saskatchewan’s fallen over the generations.
The Saskatchewan Virtual War Memorial supplements the physical monument, and is an online commemoration of Saskatchewan’s war dead. The online database features more than 11,000 war casualties, along with their stories. Find out more by visiting www.svwm.ca.
-30-
For more information, contact:
Dauna Ditson
Intergovernmental Affairs
Regina
Phone: 306-787-2155
Email: dauna.ditson@gov.sk.ca