Mr. Lévesque, I'm happy that you're here in your capacity. Thank you for being here.
I have this one debate going on in my mind, and I'd like you to comment on it more than me asking you a question. I think it came out the other day when we were discussing this with the Legion people. Yes, medals are objects. Many of us have difficulty with dealing with the fact that they take on a commercial value because we see them as symbols of what the individuals received these medals for; they are symbols of what they did. We've learned through our witnesses that the Order of Canada, for example, has to be returned upon the death of the recipient.
It is a symbol of what their service was to this country, just as a medal—any medal, and I don't care whether it's worth $2 or $200,000—is a symbol of what it is the individual did. It has significance to this country because of that.
I have this debate in my mind going on. I don't like the idea of seeing medals on tables at flea markets, fairs, and such. As the generations pass them down, ultimately someone sees it as a commercial object. It may not be the son of the person who received it.... Ultimately what's happening, what the reality is, is that they become commercially traded objects. That's where I think we diminish the value of this national heritage, but heritage not having a monetary sense, in my mind.
Does any of that resonate with you in terms of your understanding of what insignia medals mean?