Thank you.
And we were hoping, Ms. O'Brien, you were going to disagree with the Speaker, but we probably realized that wasn't going to happen.
Thank you very much, Speaker. You've been very eloquent and you've explained it very well, from your point of view.
I've had the good fortune to serve on this committee since it started as a stand-alone committee, and I'm very proud to do so. We've had witness to some amazing testimony and some amazing meetings in this room.
I can't say anything to disagree with many of the things you said, but we want a room where the veterans can come and have their story. You used the word “lacklustre”. To us, and I think probably to you since you've served here for 20 years, it's one of the best committee meeting rooms to meet in. It's close to the chamber; we can be involved here at all times. Of all the ones we've worked in, this is one of the best. We don't necessarily need the classification to adorn this room or to get permission to adorn it with something that's important to veterans, but we feel we want a room where the living ones can come and have something to say about their future.
One of the things we've found through our study and crossing Canada is that one of the biggest concerns the men and women in uniform have right is how they're treated as they leave. We think it would just be a mark of recognition for them that they have their own room, they have their own meeting room, they have a place to come that would carry appropriate artwork, if you will. We think they would take ownership of this and they would want to come before us at a very difficult time.
Many of the witnesses we have had have been very emotional. We're dealing at this time with post-traumatic stress disorder. We want some room or some place that they can take some ownership of and feel comfortable in.
So that was the reason for our original request. And while we understand everything you put in your letter and your comments you just made, some of us here don't know how it would take away from, as an example, the Memorial Chamber to have a room the veterans could recognize as their own, as the living, and come to discuss with parliamentarians their thoughts and their wishes and their hopes for the future.
That was the original drive of that. The mover will have to say what he wants after the original motion, that we tried to do this, but we wanted the opportunity. We know you have a lot of experience. We wanted the opportunity to bring you here and share some of that, and I'm sure my colleagues will have some other things.