Ottawa, Monday, April 7, 2008

As I stand in this place of contemplation, of unity and gathering, I cannot help but be filled with emotion.

Whenever I enter a cemetery, I feel as though I am opening the door to a library. Every tombstone is a book; every person at rest, a story.

I often stop and take a closer look at the names, dates and inscriptions of those who have passed on.

I like to think that their spirit remains, that it stays with us, living on in our thoughts and memories.

In 2004, Todorov wrote in Abuses of Memory: “Life has lost its battle against death, but memory wins the battle against nothingness.”

What we are celebrating with a memorial, what lives on in our memory, is the life another has lived. The life of those we have known, admired, worked alongside, loved.

To walk through Beechwood Cemetery is to walk through a place of memory. To go back in time and retrace the footsteps of our predecessors, discover the dreams that inspired them.

Entire chapters of Canada’s history can be read right here beneath our feet.

There are people buried in this cemetery who built this country through sheer determination, conviction and courage.

Well-known personalities who shaped the times in which they lived, but also ordinary citizens destined for greatness; soldiers who gave their lives to save others; everyday heroes; to say nothing of the families, many of which chose to make Canada their home, that built this city, this community.

Beechwood Cemetery is also the final resting place of one of my predecessors, the Right Honourable Ramon Hnatyshyn.

I was surprised to learn that there are others who worked at Rideau Hall who are buried here.

The life led by these women and men, the role they played in shaping the world, remind us that we are all links in a greater human chain. That each and every one of us, in our own way, is making history. That we are adding our pages to the story that is Canada.

A story that starts anew as each of us makes our way in the world.

As commander-in-chief, I work alongside men and women every day who are also dedicated to making a difference.

Military personnel of every rank, from every regiment, from every region of our country.

I have witnessed these men and women hard at work not only here in Canada, but also in Haiti, on the HMCS Iroquois in Casablanca, at Camp Mirage and in Kandahar.

I have listened as they have told me about their lives, their commitment and their convictions.

I am moved by their unwavering determination and their courage in the face of many dangers.

I consider it a great privilege to support them and their families and to stand with them, even at the most difficult times.

Whenever we repatriate the bodies of soldiers who have lost their lives in Afghanistan, I make a point of being there, on the tarmac, alongside their grieving families. And I thank them each time for including me and for allowing me to grieve with them.

These families have shared their pain with me, but they have also told me how much they respect the choice made by their loved one, whose life was cut short.

Let us never forget the sacrifices that they and that all of the soldiers at rest here have willingly made on behalf of a democratic ideal.

The freedom we enjoy in Canada is not shared by most people in our world. Those who came before us paid a high price for our freedom.

It is fitting that we should pay tribute to their invaluable contribution.

This memorial centre is a promise made to the women and men who came before us and who shared their energy, enthusiasm and unique vision of the world.

It is a promise to never forget, despite the passage of time.

It is a promise to continue their work and to add to it for the benefit of future generations.

It is a promise to endeavour always to improve the lives of those around us.

Thank you to everyone who had a hand in making this wonderful, important project a reality.

It now gives me great pleasure to declare the Beechwood National Memorial Centre officially open.