I remember very well the same discussion we had when David Pratt was the chair of the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs, when we moved the motion to have room 362 in the East Block designated the War Room. And I remember the diminishment and the argument of the memorial room, whether it would take away from that. Absolutely not. All it did was state that in room 362 there would be very tasteful, decorative artwork. There would be a small certificate or a plaque from the chair, which is very respectful. Not one person ever accused room 362 of being a memorial room.
This is not to be a memorial room. I would be the first one, like David Sweet, to argue that. This is just a working room so that when veterans, and especially their representatives, come in, they can feel at home and meet, discuss, and talk with parliamentarians--and whomever else, for that matter--about issues of the day that affect veterans and their families.
This is the exact same response David Pratt got. We should challenge them respectfully and indicate to Peter that we do not want this to be a memorial room. That's the last thing we want. We want this to be tastefully decorated so that it indicates to people when they come here that this room is a veterans' working room.
In 2004, when I wrote to everybody about the veterans committee, of having a stand-alone committee, I was told we couldn't do it because of the expense. In 2006, one of the first things the new government did was set up a veterans committee. Expense wasn't a problem then. We're not asking for money. We're just asking for consideration that this be like the Aboriginal Room down below, the Reading Room, and all these other ones that we have, and that this would be respected in those terms.
I think in the highlight of discussions of veterans and their families, this is just one more small way that we as parliamentarians can say thank you to those Canadians who serve. I told that gentleman who was here in uniform the other day, supporting his wife, who was a doctor, that we had a motion to make this room a certain room, but that we hadn't got it finalized yet. You should have seen the smile on his face. He was really proud.