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In the wake of last month’s deadly fire at CFB Wainwright, annual services to honour military sacrifice hold even deeper meaning, the speaker of Alberta’s legislature said Wednesday.
“The loss of these young lives is a solemn reminder that service to our country continues today, and that those who wear Canada’s uniform continue to accept risks on the behalf of all of the rest of us,” said Ric McIver at a ceremony to mark Remembrance Day and Indigenous Veterans Day.
At the same time, at a military funeral in Prince Albert, Sask., soldiers saluted the flag-draped coffin of 23-year-old Pte. Shaun Farrell, one of the four service members who died in the Oct. 17 fire at CFB Wainwright.
Pte. Aidan Goulding was also killed in the fire. His remains were returned to British Columbia on Wednesday, where a motorcade escorted the hearse carrying his remains from the Vancouver airport to a funeral home in New Westminster. First responders lined the road to pay their respects.
Pte. Hayden Lykkemark and Sgt. Morgan Wong were also killed in the Oct. 17 training incident, and dozens more were injured, many of them seriously.
“The democratic institutions we serve today exist — they only exist — because generations of Canadians, women and men and uniform, alongside Indigenous veterans, answered the call to serve,” McIver told the crowd in the legislature rotunda.
Composite illustration featuring (left to right): Pte. Shaun Farrell, Pte. Aidan Goulding, Pte. Hayden Lykkemark, and Sgt. Morgan Wong. (Patricia Farrell/Facebook, Wylder Goulding via CP, Nadine Dunford/Facebook via CP, Canadian Armed Forces via CP)
McIver said he is grateful to the health-care staff caring for the injured soldiers.
Premier Danielle Smith gave her thanks as well, saying wearing a Canadian Forces uniform is a “declaration” that one will lay down their life for the values of the nation.
“As we were tragically reminded just 18 days ago at CFB Wainwright, sacrifice and loss are also the price of vigilance and combat-readiness, not just active conflicts,” she said.
“This event is a heartbreaking reminder that stepping up to serve your country always requires courage.”
She called on civilians to recognize the “cost willingly paid by our fallen soldiers.”
Opposition NDP leader Naheed Nenshi also spoke at the service. He said he tries every day to pause and look at the regimental flags and plaques that fill the rotunda.
“[We should] remind ourselves of the sacrifices that so many have made so that we can have that simple taste of freedom, so that we can have the ability to argue in that chamber behind us, for all the work that we do that relies on the work of so many others.”
Pte. Farrell remembered at military service
At Farrell’s funeral, friends remembered him as a shoulder to lean on.
“Sometimes the difference between giving up and carrying on is simply knowing that someone believes in you. And for me that person was Shaun,” said Luke Jessiman.
He said they grew to be like brothers through arduous moments in basic training, such as freezing temperatures and early mornings.
“I hope you know during those difficult months of training he was never alone.”
Other friends, such as Matthew Meachem, said Farrell loved vehicles and telling jokes.
“Shaun and I always used to try and put each other on the spot, and I guess he got the last laugh today in making me speak up here in front of you,” he said.
“I wish I could have one more day with you, one more conversation, one more laugh, one more chance to tell you I love you.”
DND provides update on injuries
Of the 39 soldiers who were initially hospitalized after the fire, 14 have now been released from hospital, according to a news release issued by the Department of National Defence on Wednesday.
The ministry said following “careful medical assessment and recommendations from medical professionals,” four of the hospitalized Canadian Armed Forces members have been transferred to health facilities closer to their loved ones in their home communities in British Columbia in Ontario.
