Sergeant (Ret’d) Daniel Lafontaine

Sergeant Daniel Lafontaine was born in 1964, and grew up in Chelmsford outside Sudbury in Northern Ontario. His father’s mother was Algonquin (Anishnabeg), born in the Baskatong region of Québec; his mother’s grandmother was Innu (Montagnais) from the area of Les Escoumins, Québec; and he is a francophone first-generation Métis in Québec. He is proud to be a Canadian Veteran, and even prouder to be an Indigenous Veteran. In 1983 he enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces and was quickly promoted to the ranks of Corporal, Master Corporal, and then Sergeant. He was deployed on peacekeeping missions with both the United Nations and NATO in Cyprus, Haiti, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. After he left the Forces in 2003, he found that his biggest challenge in retirement was adapting to civilian life while dealing with PTSD. Each year on National Peacekeeper’s Day (August 9th), he is proud to bring together more than 1,000 Veterans for a Sunset Ceremony to honour Canadian Peacekeepers.