Former Member Gaetan Royer speaks about Port Mann Bridge & Remembrance Day

 Our Guest Speaker today was our own Gaetan!

He talked about his concept of turning the Port Mann bridge into a public park.  He told us that since he spoke about it, he has been receiving information and emails from all over the world, even from as far away as Turkey, from places where this has been done.  He had some great photos to share.  Paris has converted an abandoned railway trestle; New York has converted a railway bridge. A walkway over the Hudson River in New York state is run by a non-profit. In Saskatoon, Victoria Bridge has become a major tourist attraction.

There are plans to turn the land at the south side of the bridge into a public park, and a greenway along the waterfront.  If hooked into this system, the bridge would extend out into the river, and provide a wonderful viewpoint of the busy Fraser River.

Gaetan then gave us a very moving discussion for Remembrance Day.  He told us of Mark Isfield  in Croatia, and his own career in the military.  He told us of the emotional voyage a soldier goes through when he receives the order to deploy, excitement versus the pain of leaving his wife and family.  Reality strikes when they have to report for shots, and meet with the financial counsellor to ensure the family is taken care of.  They think “What am I doing?”.  During the last few weeks they overload on parenting, storing up memories.  Meanwhile, the children are withdrawing, preparing for when Daddy is no longer there.  Fear creaps in and stays, both for the soldier and the family.

200 Canadians have been killed in Afghanistan since 2002

We concluded with a moment of silence.