Well ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much first of all for your attention.  For those who are paying attention. I know it’s late in the evening.  I have said to the organisers, you know, 10 speeches are probably sufficient.  I don’t need to speak and I was coerced into saying a few words.  So I know it’s late, I know you’ve been very patient, and I’ll keep it very short.  I just want to make three general points.

Number one, you know ladies and gentlemen, I just ask those at the bar, quiet.  In other words, shut up just a minute.  Thank you.  (Applause) You know something, I think tonight we have a momentous time in our country.  I don’t think that we have seen something like this in our history before.  I truly don’t.  You know, here we have 1,600, 1,700, 1,800 Canadians out supporting the families of our men and women in uniform who serve our country, contributing an enormous amount of dollars to them, making sure they know they are appreciated.

And we started off with our Prime Minister.  I know the PM had to leave and I’ll just say that his support, and I’m not pushing one political stripe or another, his support has been phenomenal.  And I’ll tell you, I had the opportunity to be with the Prime Minister in Afghanistan when he arrived for his first visit to the troops.  We had kept the visit very private, very secret because we didn’t want the Taliban to, to bring in any surprises.  And so when the aircraft pulled up finally, we had 30 or 40 people standing around waiting to meet somebody.  They weren’t sure whom.  The aircraft pulled up, shut the engines down, the door opened and the steps came down.  Out walked the Prime Minister, came over to visit the group of 30 or 40.  Everybody had a great time.  He shook all their hands, pictures taken with them, laughed and chuckled with them, went on to his next event.

And one of the ladies came up and said to me sir, you know, it’s really great.  I’ve never met a Prime Minister in my life, I’m really excited about meeting the Prime Minister.  But she said, you know, with all the secrecy that we’ve had, when that aircraft pulled up and shut its engine down and the, the door opened and the ladder came down, she said I thought that it was Don Cherry who was going to walk down those stairs.  (Laughter) (applause) I didn’t tell the Prime Minister that.  I didn’t want to burst the bubble that he had had so far.  But we are here with our Prime Minister, we’re here with the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, we’re here with several Premiers, including Premier Dalton McGuinty and I just want to say to you Premier, thank you for what you have done and thank you for announcing putting the yellow ribbons on the license plates of cars here in Ontario.  (Applause) God bless you.  God, he does that well, doesn’t he?

And while I don’t go after personalized license plates, I’m tempted to buy that one and if you put a yellow ribbon on one side and a Toronto Maple Leaf insignia on the other side, I’m good to go for that one, that’s for sure.  Thank you for what you’ve done.

We have Frank McKenna who threw his weight behind this.  And Frank is a good friend of mine.  Of course, he and I work with Toronto Dominion and Frank, when I was getting ready to retire, once said Rick, when you go, if you want a little advice on transition, I’ve been through several.  I can offer you some.  Two days after I announced my retirement, he phoned up and said Rick, we’re going to meet for lunch a little later on.  I can offer you a whole bunch of advice, but in the meantime there are two points that are very important to consider.  Number one, do not make any decisions quickly.  Let the dust settle, figure out what you’re going to do, take a break and then come back with a sane mind.

Number two, he said, very important, we’d like you to come work for Toronto Dominion.  So I, I did that.  And so Frank McKenna has been incredible in his support for what we have been able to do here tonight and so is Joe Natale and Telus, who along with, with my appearances across the country, have kicked in literally hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Military Family Resource Centres, Military Family Fund, support of men and women in uniform and their families across Canada.  And God bless them for what they do.

And then I talked to folks like RBC or Siddon who are just right up here, have stayed here this evening, who have been here in support of our people and I said look, we have had a momentous moment in our country.  Supporting the families that support those who serve in uniform and I think it has changed the nature of our great country and to those like Shaun Francis and his organising committee, I just want to say thank you.

Second point, (applause) yeah, that’s worth a round of applause, you know that, and I’ll tell you this, the support to those men and women in uniform through their families.  During the years of the 90’s, we in uniform, whether we wondered whether we were worthy of our country or not.  I truly, I truly believe that.  And I think tonight you have answered us.  From our families that you have supported during the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, we were invisible, those families.  Back to the 90’s, somebody in, somebody in Ottawa said to my wife knowing she was married to a, to a soldier, she said anybody associated with somebody in uniform should be ashamed to come out in the streets these days.

We had a lady phone in on a radio show in the 90’s, back in the days when our pay was low, our married quarters were rat infested and she said well, they’re all volunteers, aren’t they?  They don’t like it, they can leave.  And so I just think of what a distance we have come since that time.  And what a positive incredible statement we have made here this evening.  The families that you are supporting, it’s quite incredible huh, they are the ones, they are the ones who stand the stress, they are the ones who the, the births are missed, the first words are missed, the first steps are missed and those birthdays are missed.  And they’re the ones who avoid the media, avoid the news while their loved one is deployed or watch it all the time so they know what’s going on.  And they’re the ones that you are supporting this evening.  It’s pretty incredible what you’re doing here in Canada and I think it’s an incredible step that defines us in the world.

Lastly, I’ll say this.  I’m proud to be Canadian.  I’m proud to be here this evening, to be part of this evening.  (Applause) I’m proud to have worn that Canadian flag on my left shoulder.  You know, back in the 90’s, I said that we sometimes wondered if we were worthy of Canada, and now I think that Canadians wonder if they are worthy of the men and women in uniform who are truly national treasures for us.  (Applause) But you know also what I think is that this night answers that question positively, that you believe that you are worthy because you are going to support them.  During their times of great need, you are there for them, whether it’s the loss of their loved one or whether it’s the tiny family emergency that they need support in.  You are here tonight to say that you are not alone in what you do.

And I’ll close by saying this.  I had a poem sent to me by Don and Michelle Gardner, Nova Scotia, a little short poem, I just want to read it to you and I’ll get out of your way.  It says:

You are not alone

When you rise in the morning and face the day,

You are not alone

When you’re out on patrol and in harm’s way,

You are not alone

When the goals of the mission seem impossible to keep,

You are not alone

When you lie still at night and can’t fall asleep,

You are not alone

We are with you, supporting you and praying for you

We are standing by you in our hearts

And we are loyal to you in our words

You are the reason that we can proudly say I am Canadian

Thank you for what you do

Thank you for your support to the families here tonight.  God bless you.  Amen. like Italy, Croatia, Bosnia and Afghanistan.  And yet, too many have made the ultimate sacrifice.  To all the family members who have lost loved ones in a conflict, we stand by your side, our arms embrace you and as well, you give us the strength and the inspiration to carry on.  And I would ask all of our families of the fallen to please stand up now and we want to give you our respect and our gratitude of a great nation.  Please stand up.  (Applause) We salute you.
Whether our men and women are serving at home or overseas, they need to be able to focus on their missions.  We need to take care of our families while their loved ones are deployed.  That’s what we’re doing here tonight in Toronto.  Ladies and gentlemen, your attendance tonight and generosity towards our men and women in uniform and their families is greatly appreciated.  Your Forces are deployed around the world, not only Afghanistan, but in Congo, Sudan, Haiti, Middle East and even Cyprus.  Today, HMCS Fredericton moves towards the Horn of Africa.  Their families are at home trying to keep things normal.  I would like to ask you to please think of them and in your own way and your own tradition, say a prayer for them.  Recognize the sacrifices that they for all of us in Canada to be safe.  I’m proud of them, I’m proud of their families, I am truly thankful to Toronto for your support.  God bless.  Thank you very much.