Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I go back to my previous comments, Mr. Minister, and I say this with the greatest respect, as always. We can only go, in opposition, by what you say and what your Prime Minister says. The Prime Minister said that immediately upon forming a government, those would extend to all widows of the Second World War and the Korean War. And you just said in testimony that if a World War II veteran you met passed away, his wife wouldn't qualify. You're the minister. Your Prime Minister made the promise that all of them would qualify. As a minister, you shouldn't have any difficulty ensuring that she would get that benefit. But the problem, sir, is that many widows do not qualify because of the restrictions that are placed on it. Your government promised for all and they delivered for some. This is why we voted against it.
You also said in your comments before that all victims of defoliant spraying would be covered from 1956 to 1984, not some of them from 1966-1967. I remember when you went after the former minister. I was in the room when you attacked her--quite well, I may say--and I was rooting for you because you were right.
The Prime Minister also said it, and I would assume the Prime Minister, who has all the advisors in the world around him, would not make a promise on television with Polish veterans unless he knew the facts. He must have known, first of all, how many veterans of the Commonwealth and allied forces there are in the country. He must have known that before he made the promise. And he must have known that they were going to do it right away when they formed government. They're 86 years old. They don't have much time to wait. I'm sure if you came tomorrow with a motion that said these funds will immediately go to war allowances for Commonwealth and allied veterans there wouldn't be one member of Parliament on this committee or in the House of Commons who would vote against that or even oppose that. In fact, we'd probably stand on top of the monument and salute you. But the reality is, sir, it's not done.
So I just wanted to let you know that you have a chance to redeem yourself and your party. In November 2006 you voted against the veterans-first motion, which included the clawback of the pensions at 65, the SISIP clawback, the VIP for all, the marriage after 60 act, and the amount of money a veteran can leave to their spouse going from 50% to 60%.
But having said that, I have a question for you: When will the allied and Commonwealth veterans war allowance be done? We don't have any time. Every time we wait, another few of them pass away.
Lastly, on a more serious note, you've had the honour and distinction of seeing Mr. John Babcock, and I want to thank your assistant, Madam Desjarlais, for the beautiful photo and signature that he gave me. And as you know, a motion was passed in the House of Commons that at the passing of his time, the country would honour not just him but all those--that entire generation--who served in World War I. I'm just wondering, sir, if you have any details on what preparations would be made in order to have a commemoration, not necessarily national, of all in that generation who served in World War I. As you know, we failed to do anything in that regard when the last person from the Boer War passed away. I'm just wondering what the government is planning to do in preparation for the passing of Mr. Babcock.
Thank you very much for that.