Windsor-West MP Brian Masse is overseas to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI.
Masse is part of a delegation that includes Minister of Veterans Affairs Seamus O'Regan, veterans and Indigenous groups at a ceremony in Mons, Belgium.
He says Canada's involvement in the war was a, "significant moment in our history as a nation and was critical to securing a victory in Europe for our allies."
"At the end of the campaign though, it was Canadian forces that fought in one of the last major engagements in the first great war. So it is an honour and tribute to be there," he says.
A Canadian soldier participates in a Remembrance Day ceremony commemorating 100-years since the end of WWI in Mons, Belgium on Friday November 9, 2018. (Photo courtesy of Brian Masse)
Masse says Canada deserves this recognition.
"We are recognized by the Commonwealth having the last casualty, just outside of Mons, Belgium," he says. "There was a private who was shot and is known as last recorded casualty for the commonwealth nations and that was just before 11am."
Private George Price died a mere two minutes before hostilities ceased on November 11th, 1918. The native of Nova Scotia was the last British Empire soldier to die in a war that claimed nearly 67,000 Canadians and Newfoundlanders. Price was with a small group from his unit who were checking houses for Germans, when he was shot through the chest.
Masse says it is important to remember.
"We have lost a number of veterans over the years and it is important that the legacy, especially of the great war continues with regards to making sure that we pay tribute," he says.
Masse says his attendance at the ceremony is with mixed emotions though as it will be the first time since 1997 when he was first elected as a city councillor that he will miss Windsor's Remembrance Day Ceremony.
Windsor-West MP Brian Masse(far-right) attends a Remembrance Day ceremony commemorating 100-years since the end of WWI in Mons, Belgium on Friday November 9, 2018. (Photo courtesy of Brian Masse)