FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 9, 2018
QUEEN’S PARK—MPP Toby Barrett, in the spirit of Remembrance, recently spoke in the legislature to honour the bravery and skill of Canadian military snipers past and present.
“During the Great War, Métis Henry Louis Norwest was a famed Canadian sniper,” Barrett said. “In trench conflict, he needed excellent marksmanship with the ability to camouflage and stay still for long periods. Lance Corporal Norwest made 115 kills and earned two military medals. Norwest was killed by a German—also a sniper.”
A companion recalled about Norwest, “Our famous sniper no doubt understood better than most of us the cost of life and the price of death. Henry Norwest carried out his terrible duty superbly because he believed his special skill gave him no choice but to fulfill his indispensable mission.”
The current world record (distance) was made by an unnamed Canadian sniper in 2017 in Iraq, surpassing a record set by British sniper Craig Harrison in 2009, who had edged Canadian Corporal Rob Furlong’s 2002 shot in Afghanistan. Furlong unseated Canadian Master Corporal Arron Perry.
“During this time of remembrance, I think of Canadian Private George Lawrence Price of World War I’s 28th Battalion. On November 11, 1918, he was shot at 10:57 a.m., three minutes before the signing of the armistice,” Barrett continued. “ He was the last soldier of the British Empire and of the Canadian Forces to fall—again, killed by a sniper.”
Please enjoy the video version: https://youtu.be/UCuA34vLTKE
-30-
For more information, contact MPP Toby Barrett at 519-428-0446 or toby.barrett@pc.ola.org