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Video: From B.C. to Ottawa carrying a cross for veterans and First Nations

Warren Parke is walking from Kelowna, B.C. to Ottawa to bring awareness to veteran services and clean drinking water on First Nations communities 

With a nine-foot cross on his shoulders, Warren Parke is walking from Kelowna, B.C. to Ottawa to bring awareness to issues affecting veterans and First Nations communities.

Parke's said he was driven to action over his frustration with what he sees as the inadequate response from the federal government to veterans' issues and the lack of clean drinking water in more than 91 First Nations reserves.

"I feel that these issues that I'm bringing awareness to are being overlooked and not given to respect that they deserve," Parke told Sudbury.com.

"I'm not just picking on one particular party. All of them had the chance to fix a lot of this stuff over the years. If the powers that be aren't going to have our best interests at heart, I feel like we as Canadians can do it ourselves.

"All it takes is one person to make a stand."

Parke, who says he is also known as "the Old Man," arrived in Greater Sudbury on Friday evening after walking -- with one foot in a cast, no less -- the long road from Sault Ste. Marie in a snowstorm, though the combination of snowy roads and the poor visibility became too treacherous for him at Massey and he was forced to drive into the city. 

Sudbury.com met up with Parke on Feb. 6 along with members of the Lockerby Legion as he made his way through Sudbury's South End with the large white cross, decorated with slogans and symbols.

You can watch that video above.  

From Sudbury, Parke will walk to Toronto before making his way to Ottawa.

You can follow Parke's journey on his Facebook Page called the "The Old Man". Parke also has a GoFundMe page.  


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Heather Green-Oliver

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