I could ask them, of course.

The well-worn routine of a veteran journalist would be to pick up the receiver, dial Veterans Affairs, find an old soldier sitting in an armchair somewhere in Edmonton, and ask: “Was it worth it?”

TAIT: Monday's Alberta referendum a test of Canadian democracy Back to video

But I think I know the answer.

A quick search shows there are approximately 3,000 Canadian Second World War veterans still drawing breath today.

That number shrinks with every setting sun. Soon, an entire living epoch will belong only to memory and marble.

Whether they charged into the terrifying roar of Juno Beach, where sand turned to crimson mud, or kept the engines humming in reserve depots and supply lines across this wide prairie, their service must be held in the highest esteem. They were barely boys with farm dirt under their fingernails and grease on their overalls, trading Alberta sky for cold European trenches.

Why do we hold democracy in such sacred regard?

Because democracy isn’t just a political system — it is the radical, tender idea that our neighbours........

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