Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague, the member for Gatineau, raised this issue in the House of Commons on April 16. At that time, the Minister of Veterans Affairs was very clear in his reply. He indicated that the government took immediate action and that the panels with the erroneous French translations were removed from Canada's Vimy Interpretive Centre in France.
Now the member has brought the issue forward again. It gives me an opportunity to explain what happened and why we acted so quickly.
The foam core panels were installed on the evening of June 30, 2006, in celebration of Canada Day last summer. Unfortunately, the timing of the installation coincided with a number of other events that contributed to the error-riddled panels falling through the cracks.
Among other things, Veterans Affairs Canada was in the middle of planning and hosting a number of major events in France to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. At the same time, staffing for senior overseas posts at Veterans Affairs was in a state of transition. The result was a lack of proper oversight during the erection of these panels.
I want to stress that I offer these details only to explain what went wrong and not to justify how the inexcusable translations could have been allowed to go on public display.
Canada's new government is committed to providing services in both our official languages, and our commitment is unwavering. The quick action taken by the Minister of Veterans Affairs clearly demonstrates our determination to honour and to enforce that commitment.
On April 5, as soon as he was made aware of the errors in the French text, errors which he called “totally unacceptable”, the Minister of Veterans Affairs took action immediately. He ordered that the panels in question be removed.
I know that members will want to know exactly what the minister said when he took his decisive action. Let me quote directly from his statement dated April 5: “I immediately instructed my officials to correct this situation and to ensure this will never happen again”.
As the minister also reminded the hon. member opposite on April 16, we removed the signs immediately. He said:
We did that immediately, long before it was brought to the attention of the hon. member. We did the right thing.
I want to reassure all members as well as all Canadians that we embrace our responsibility to reflect the linguistic duality of our country and we do so proudly. Canada's official languages must be properly displayed at all Government of Canada sites, especially at one as historically significant as the Canada National Vimy Memorial.
This is a clear commitment on behalf of the Government of Canada. We have taken the necessary steps to ensure that such unfortunate mistakes never happen again.
Veterans Affairs Canada has a special mandate of commemorating the service and sacrifice of the brave men and women who have worn our uniform in times of both war and peace.
Over the first few weeks of April, Canadians gathered across the country from Yellowknife to Toronto, from St. John's to Kamloops, to pay their respects to those who had fought and died in taking Vimy Ridge. Also, of course, Canadians gathered in France. It was especially gratifying and heartwarming to see the thousands of Canadian students who travelled to Vimy to take part in the dedication of the newly restored Canadian National Vimy Memorial.
Many of my colleagues from the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs were among those to attend. I am sure they have all returned home with their own special memories. The sight of those young Canadians marching in as a group was simply remarkable. To realize that we now have thousands of new ambassadors of remembrance is extremely gratifying.
Veterans Affairs Canada is committed to honouring all of our veterans through such acts of remembrance. We must not forget those who came before us and those who continue to serve our country. I know that we are all very proud--