Education and Early Childhood Development
November 14, 2017

The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Dale Kirby, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development:

Remembering Sergeant Donald Lucas

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in this Honourable House to pay tribute to the late Sergeant Donald Lucas, member of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, who was killed during active duty in Afghanistan in 2007.

Last week, I had the honour of participating in a Remembrance Day assembly and special dedication ceremony held at Octagon Pond Elementary School. Following the assembly, invited guests, family and friends gathered to witness the official naming of the school’s library, now known as the Sergeant Donald Lucas Commons.

Mr. Speaker, the Sergeant Donald Lucas Commons is a welcoming space that builds community. It is a meeting place for students and a portal to the preservation of knowledge, creativity and discovery.

Sergeant Lucas was known to many as a dedicated soldier, a devoted family man, and a committed member of the community. His service and commitment to our country will forever be remembered.

Mr. Speaker, the dedication of the library was initiated by Octagon Pond Elementary School principal Kirk Smith. Mr. Smith has a distinguished career as a teacher and administrator, and also serves as a Lieutenant Colonel with the Canadian Forces Army Reserves as Deputy Commander of 37 Brigade and Commanding Officer of 37 Signal Regiment.

Mr. Speaker, the newly mounted poster in the Sergeant Donald Lucas Commons reads:

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them.
Nor years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning.
We will remember them.

Mr. Speaker, I invite my fellow Honourable members to join with me in acknowledging the family of Sergeant Lucas and in thanking our courageous men and women in uniform – both home and abroad – who put their lives in harm’s way every day in service of our province and our country.

Thank you.

2017 11 14                             1:55 p.m.