To agree with Ms. Sgro, we in the Bloc Québécois are also going to vote against this bill. That position, of course, is based on meetings we have held with veterans and various other witnesses.
There is one question about this bill that disturbs me considerably. When a medal is awarded, a contract is made. The person who receives the medal believes it belongs to them, but in a way it does not really belong to them. That is fine up to a certain point. the problem is that we don't tell them this. There is no agreement, either oral or written. So there is no real contract.
So under this bill, as under the Cultural Property Export and Import Act that is currently in force, what is being done is to penalize people who break it by doing something they were never told broke the law. They weren't told it was breaking the law, they weren't informed of the conditions on which the medals were awarded. That is what disturbs me.
For example, under the Civil Code of Quebec, when there is a sale, a contract of sale or a contract of exchange is made. Here, there's no contract of exchange or contract of sale, there's nothing. When a person receives a medal, it is presumed that they are informed of the procedure, the right way to pass the medal on to the next generations, or what they can do with it in future. They are presumed to know the law. If I were a soldier and I received a medal, I don't know whether I would find out about all the laws there are.
As well, I think that the Canadian public service, which we in the Bloc Québécois consider to be relatively well equipped, should be more proactive and do the follow-up itself. If there are concerns about certain medals that have been awarded and there is a desire to see them be part of the cultural heritage, it is up to the public service to be more proactive, as my colleague said earlier, and stay up to date on what happens to those medals. Knowing that a particular person has received a medal with a particular value, there has to be the ability to follow up on that medal. For example, when the person dies, they should be able to call the family, find out about their intentions, and inform them of the desire that the medal be returned, to contribute to Canadian heritage. There should be discussion. I think the public service should be more proactive, and not simply engage in enforcement and applying consequences, for example, when it is found that a medal we would have liked to see be part of the heritage has been traded, given away or exported.
I did vote in favour of a fine. Certainly $5,000 is still lower than five times the value of the medal in question. But we in the Bloc Québécois are having a hard time supporting this bill, in view of all this. We are going to vote against the bill. We voted for amendments, yes, to improve the content of the bill a little in the event it is passed, but we are going to vote against it.