I supported the amendments because I think you're making the bill better. Clearly, from listening to some of our witnesses today, that was important. In the event that the bill passes, I think it has probably been cleaned up and it has probably helped Mr. Schellenberger.
But I have to go back to Tuesday's witnesses and the comments they made about their medals. We heard today that they are given to them. If a medal were given to me, it belongs to me. If it's supposed to come back to Canada, or in some other form, then in the future they should have them sign some sort of contract to say that in the event they pass on this must come back to the Government of Canada.
But they were very clear: those medals are theirs and they have every right to do whatever they want with them. I supported getting Mr. Schellenberger's bill here because of the same thing as everybody: I feel uncomfortable with the idea of people selling these things; they're too priceless.
Again, a lot of that has to do with collections that are gathered. I don't know what I thought people were selling them for; I probably thought they were selling them because we're not giving them big enough pensions and they need $50. We've heard those stories.
The reality is that they're really selling them because people are collecting them, so they are staying within the family of people who respect and appreciate those medals. The fact that I don't like it and I would rather they didn't do that is secondary to what our Royal Canadian Legion folks said the other day: “These are our medals.”
We gave them, they earned them, and they have a right to do what they want with them. I feel very bad to go against that. I support the intent of what Mr. Schellenberger is trying to do, but from my perspective I'm going to vote against the bill.
You've cleaned it up a bit, so you probably have a little bit stronger bill, but I can't look those legionnaires in the face and know that I said those medals don't really.... “You can have them for a while. Even though you risked your life on behalf of our country to earn them, you really shouldn't have them forever; they should come back to us.” I don't agree with that.
If there's another way of amending the cultural property act that helps to achieve some of what you want, then maybe that's the avenue to go--I don't know. But they were very clear the other day that the men and the women in the Legion do not support this, and for that reason I'll be voting against this bill.