Our Home and Native Land

While it is true that countries are led by the great, it is equally true; they are built, supported and maintained by the efforts of the extraordinary-ordinary citizens.

The man, or woman, who rises in the morning and make the conscious decision that they will contribute more to the society of which they are a member, than they ever take away. That contribution is as wide and varied as the people who live in this great land; and can be found in every community, from sea to shining sea.

In my lifetime, I have witnessed many examples near and far. Just a few are: The search and rescue helicopter pilot stationed in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador; who flies 150 nautical miles, over dark and stormy seas, to pluck sailors from their sinking ship.

To elderly ladies from Montreal, who knit hats and sweaters for premature babies….. they may never know.
To a curly-haired kid with cancer, trying to run his way to Thunder Bay.

To two little girls from North Battleford, Saskatchewan, who open a lemonade stand to raise money for a man suffering from cystic fibrosis; they just heard about on TV.

To Hope….British Columbia, where a man serves, despite endless days of crippling pain, as a crossing guard; that the next generation may safely go to, and return from, their school.

To the north country now, to the land of the midnight sun; where a police officer in Whitehorse, in the Yukon Territory, dodges bullets fired from the gun of drug dealer; trying to poison our children.

To Yellow Knife, in the Northwest Territory, where a firefighter kicks in the front door of a family's home….he's already reasoned it out….the chances of saving their lives is greater than that of losing his own.

Eastward, to an airstrip just outside of Iqualuit, in the Nunavut Territory, where an air ambulance paramedic wipes the snow from her cheek and looks over at the pilot. They both understand the cruel, irony of the situation. Should something go terribly wrong, their rescuers won't get to them in time.

To foreign shores where the son and brother of two men with whom I work, serves as an infantryman standing in a field of poppies, just outside of Kandahar, under the dark and evil shadow of tyranny. He's willing to protect innocence and virtue and defend truth; even if it means spilling his own blood. Now little girls, may go to school, as well.

Freemasonry has played an important part in the formation of the hearts and minds of our fellow citizens. For you my brother, understand the value of everyone receiving an education, that they may polish and adorn their minds, and you my brother, understand the value of everyone receiving decent health care, that they may have a fair and level chance in life. Every Mason knows all to well, the value of sticking to your principles - no matter what.

Canada, my friends, is no accident. The accumulated efforts of the extraordinary-ordinary citizens have resulted in each of us enjoying the daily privilege, of calling ourselves….Canadians.

This evening I have had the privilege of joining you in honouring extraordinary-ordinary citizens. How shall we honour them further?

I'll tell you how. By believing in Freemasonry. By applying it's principles. By demonstrating to your friends, your family, your neighbours and the world, it's true value, and by continuing to be the extraordinary-ordinary citizens that our Order encourages us to be.

Finally, as Major John McCrae stood in the fields of Flanders, amid the stench of war, he spoke of passing the torch. Hold it high my brethren……. hold it high. Ensure as our country is now, it will always be. The True, North, Strong and Free.

God, bless you all.