Veterans Affairs Committee on Oct. 19th, 2010

[Pierre Allard]

You can do whatever you want. That's correct.

[Brian Storseth, Conservative, Westlock—St. Paul, AB]

That's what the bill actually says.

[Pierre Allard]

That's what the bill says.

[Brad White]

Again I lose my right.

[Brian Storseth, Conservative, Westlock—St. Paul, AB]

I'm not saying it.... It imposes restrictions, or potential restrictions on your right. I agree. And that's something I think could be dealt with through amendments, could it not?

[Brad White]

I mean, it is my right. It's under my charter rights to determine my property, the disposition of my personal property.

[Brian Storseth, Conservative, Westlock—St. Paul, AB]

Listen, I'm a Conservative. I'm big on property rights.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

And the rest of us aren't?

[Brian Storseth, Conservative, Westlock—St. Paul, AB]

But my question isn't on property rights; my question is on.... I'm getting heckled by the chair.

[Brad White]

I can see that.

[Brian Storseth, Conservative, Westlock—St. Paul, AB]

My question is, quite simply, though.... If your position is that you're against it, if the Legion is against it because it infringes on veterans' property rights, then there's an amendment to get around that so the Legion could be onside of it.

It sounds to me as though the Legion's position is non-negotiable, it's against it, because there's a potential infringement, and you're not willing to look at amendments for that.

[Brad White]

That is primarily our main concern, as well as all the other concerns we've presented here for you today.

[Pierre Allard]

But we are suggesting that you can amend the Cultural Property Export and Import Act and achieve the same objective.

[Brian Storseth, Conservative, Westlock—St. Paul, AB]

Would that not start infringing on your personal property rights, though?

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Your time is up, sir. I've allowed you to go over. Your time is up.

Mr. Lobb.

[Ben Lobb, Conservative, Huron—Bruce, ON]

Thanks very much.

I don't want to belabour the point, but to build on what Mr. Storseth said, in certain provinces there are foreign ownership restrictions on agricultural land. In a way, that's to protect some foreign ownership of agricultural land. And I can understand or assume your position on that one.

But the point is that even in a real estate transaction, there are so many days to close the deal, and it could be for a number of reasons. Is it that unreasonable to the family of a veteran or to the veteran himself that he or she allows a Canadian 120 days to match an offer? Is it that unreasonable to a veteran, if he has had the medals in his family for 25 years, that they wait another 120 days?

I understand the idea that they are your rights, they are your medals, whoever's medals they were, but is it that unreasonable, from the Legion's position, that it is just so unsavoury that there are 120 days to at least make an opportunity? To me, when you're looking at all sorts of things about rights and freedoms or whatever, it doesn't seem that big of an onerous task.

[Brad White]

I will go back to my answer. I did serve. I earned a medal. The government awarded it to me. It's my medal. I should have the right to determine where that medal is going to go. Why do I have to have somebody else have the option to bid on my medal if I've determined that it should go to somebody else? I did the service.

[Ben Lobb, Conservative, Huron—Bruce, ON]

Okay, well then let's put it in another context, then. If you were going to sell your medal overseas, you would want to have that money in your bank account before you shipped the medal, correct? That would require, from the day you say “sold” until the day the money is in your bank account to the day that medal is couriered to some foreign country—it's not immediate—maybe 90 days. It could be 60 days. So in a way, what's the imposition there, because it could almost end up being even?

[Brad White]

It could be an e-mail transfer in 30 minutes.

[Ben Lobb, Conservative, Huron—Bruce, ON]

It could be. It could not be, always.

[Pierre Allard]

The bill doesn't say “no person shall sell an insignia”. The bill says “no person shall transfer an insignia”. What if I decide I want to transfer my medals to the U.K. Imperial War Museum? I don't want to sell them; I just want to transfer them. Why is it that I have to offer them for sale, then, to the Canadian War Museum? I want to transfer my medals.

[Ben Lobb, Conservative, Huron—Bruce, ON]

Well, that's what the bill says. That was my question to you fellows, and if you want to ask me questions, that's fine. But that was my question to you.

I'm a lot better at asking than answering, so we'll leave it at that.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much, Mr. Lobb.

Mr. Stoffer has asked to speak.

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

Just a quick point of order.

Mr. White brought up the collector thing and how I'm not a fan of that. What was on the Internet was simply incorrect. What I've said is that I don't have a problem with people who collect medals. If you want to give your medals to a collector, that's great. If you sell the medals to a collector, there I have a problem. And if the collector then turns around and sells them, there I have a problem.

On Mr. McColeman's comment regarding estate sales, in many cases people are selling medals that have no connection whatsoever. They bought them at an estate sale. They're on flea market tables and at garage sales. Give me twenty bucks, and off they go. He's right.

I don't have a problem with people who collect medals. I have a problem with trade in cash transactions for medals.That's my problem.

Thank you. I just thought I'd let you know that.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

I have expired all of the speakers at the moment.

Is everyone okay on all sides? All right.

Mr. White and Mr. Allard, thank you very much.

Please go ahead, Mr. André.