Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you all very much for coming here today. I wish you good luck on your amalgamation.
First, I want to thank you personally for the great job you did in honouring the Speaker last night. I thought that was a wonderful thing to do. It was a great reception, and Mr. Milliken, regardless of the political affiliation he's attached to, is a great Speaker. It's really wonderful that you recognized his longevity and his duration in that very difficult job. Congratulations on that.
Also, I see my friend, Norman Crew, in your picture. I really appreciate that. That's the Battle of the Atlantic ceremony. He's a merchant mariner. I appreciate this and I'll let him know it's there.
As well, in your encounters with the children you do a great job, because they contact us every month looking for money to get up here. I'm sure that all of you get this as well.
My next comment is more of an observation than a criticism. I mentioned this to Veterans Affairs as well. In your documentation here, I don't see anything on the Boer War and the South African conflict. It is not on purpose, but it just seems that we've forgotten all about that one. This was the war that gave us the direction and the ability to fight World War I, because of all the lessons learned from it. Unfortunately, we seem to just forget about it. I don't mean that as a criticism. It is something you might wish to look at in the future.
The other one, of course, as you know with regard to the Dominion Institute, is that a few years ago a motion was passed in the House to recognize the passing of the last person from World War I. Mr. Babcock is 109 now, but hopefully he'll live for many years from now. But if and when he passes away, the government has indicated that a significant commemoration--not necessarily a ceremony--will take place. The Dominion Institute of that time was part of this.
With the two of you joining now, can you please elaborate to the committee on what your plans are to work with the government in terms of commemorating not just Mr. Babcock, but all those men and women who served on the home front and overseas during that terrific battle of that time?