Madam Speaker, I want to assure the member that as a former educator for 20 years particularly in the area of Canadian history, I share her concern and her passion with regard to saving Canadian heritage.
There is nothing more precious than to be able to show future generations the symbols of the history of this country. I want to point out to the member that over 25 years ago, in 1977 the Government of Canada responded to the need to protect Canada's heritage by introducing the Cultural Property Export and Import Act.
The act controls the export of nationally significant heritage objects, including medals. It encourages through tax incentives the sale and donation of such material to public collectors where they may be preserved and made accessible to present and future generations of Canadians.
It is important when cultural property is threatened with export to give the government the ability to aid the cultural institutions, if necessary, with grant funds to help them acquire these objects.
Each year the act is responsible for the sale and donation of important cultural objects worth more than $100 million in Canadian collections. Since its inception the act has ensured the retention or return to Canada of over 600 nationally significant objects and entire collections that otherwise would have been lost to Canadians.
It is through this extremely effective legislation that the government acted, as it has on countless other occasions, to ensure that Canada's heritage institutions were able to acquire a medal such as Corporal Topham's Victoria Cross.
It was the export permit process under the act which first alerted Canada's heritage community to the possible loss of the medal. It was the act that allowed the government to demonstrate to the medal's owners the tax advantages of selling it to a Canadian rather than a foreign collector.
The member clearly is concerned. I want to point out to the member that if something can be improved upon, it is incumbent upon all of us to look at that. However, I would not want the member to have the impression that the Government of Canada did nothing. That is why this act is in place.
If the member has a way that can be helpful obviously in strengthening it, I am not the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, but I certainly will advise both the minister and the parliamentary secretary, that we have this private member's bill.
Clearly the object is no different from what the member is saying and what we are saying, which is that we need to preserve and maintain Canadian historical memorabilia in this country.
The United States would not have sold Sir John A. Macdonald's bed, as happened many years ago. We need to keep these things. They are a part of what makes us Canadian.
I assure the member that the act is there. If there are ways to improve it, then I think we are obviously open to that. However, I would not want to give the impression that the Government of Canada in this case or any other case was in fact asleep at the wheel. Clearly we alerted the community and that was very important.