Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns has introduced a Private Member’s Bill to create a day of remembrance to honour Canadian Armed Forces members who have died during peacetime on Canadian soil.

“Every year on Remembrance Day, Canadians commemorate our brave Armed Forces members who have fallen in combat,” said Johns, the NDP critic for Veterans Affairs. “We must also take time to honour those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice serving their country here at home.”

The bill proposes that October 22nd become known as “Peacetime Service and Sacrifice Memorial Day” and that the flag on the Peace Tower be lowered to half-mast every year on this day.

The bill was introduced on the eleventh anniversary of Corporal Nathan Cirillo’s tragic death, killed while standing guard at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. Two days prior, Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent was killed by a targeted vehicular attack while on duty in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec.

“We should not forget the risks members of our Armed Forces face, even in times of peace,” said Johns. Since 1914, an estimated 2,000 Canadian Armed Forces members have died in non-combat roles in Canada.

“We must also remember veterans who have lost their lives as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder,” said Johns. Between, 2013 and 2024, at least 177 members of the Regular Force and 36 members of the Reserve Force died by suicide.