Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise on this occasion to speak to Motion No. 251 to create a memorial recognizing the outstanding contributions of Lieutenant Colonel William Billy Barker, a World War I flying ace and hero of Canada and the Commonwealth.
Billy Barker was born in Dauphin, Manitoba. He died in Ottawa on March 12, 1930. He was a cohort of Billy Bishop. I remember Billy Bishop through a work of art basically, a play written by John Gray called Billy Bishop Goes to War . It was an important play that helped me to understand in a very real way what it meant to go to war.
Billy Barker was a cohort of Billy Bishop, just another young scared boy probably of the age of many of our children who went off to war. It is very important to remember people such as Billy Barker and Billy Bishop. It is important that we acknowledge their contribution to the military and to World War I. It is important for Canadians to recognize heroes who served in the armed forces, both men and women.
As the member of parliament for Dartmouth I represent a community with a long and proud military tradition. I have met many of the heroes of today in the military, the peacekeepers, the sailors and the soldiers who make tremendous sacrifices for peacekeeping, national security and such things as environmental clean-up and natural disasters.
Many people right now in Canada are very aware that these people are heroes when they manage to put sandbags around their houses and save their homes or save their children or save their lives from fires. We have many heroes today in the military.
I am also aware that there is a parliamentary committee crossing the country right now looking into the situation of people in the military and addressing the fact that perhaps DND and the Canadian government are not at the present time recognizing the heroes we have here and now. I have also talked with people, peacekeepers who have come home from various war zones with their health is ruined. They are trying to cobble together veterans assistance and basic disability payments. We have to be aware of them also when we are talking about recognizing heroes.
How do we recognize our heroes? There are ways. There are memorials. That is one way. I would say that a memorial for such a person as Billy Barker is an important way to do it.
I also urge that we continue to recognize heroes on a daily basis by recognizing the values that people such as Billy Barker fought for. These are values such as democracy, equality, freedom of speech, freedom from fear, freedom from racism and freedom from injustice. I again say that we have to recognize people in the here and now.
As well I recognize a massive commitment to such things as education of our young people about the contributions of Canadians to politics, war, peace, culture, humanitarian efforts and strengthening our communities. I take this opportunity to talk about some of the real heroes right now in our country.
Today I had the privilege of taking part in the buddies celebration in the centre block of the House of Commons. Over the past year, 18 young people with special needs have been on the Hill every week working in MPs' offices with their staffs. This buddies program gives young people with disabilities a chance to build self-esteem, learn job skills and be part of the world of work.
We have some heroes today, people like the teachers at Ridgemont High School, Ilse Turnsen and Pat Mainwaring, who have put together this program to allow disabled people to fight for their rightful places in our communities. They are heroes of the here and now.
I have in my office once a week a young boy named Capnello Bueti, who is trying to be part of our world of work and I appreciate that.
In closing I reiterate my desire to show the living practical commitment to the values of people such as Billy Barker for all the many years ago he sacrificed for the kind of society we want to live in. In terms of memorials to people such as Billy Barker let us remember by doing, by educating and by committing our public resources to the struggle against such things as poverty, hunger, inequality and racism. As well let us remember by example Billy Barker in the present.