Evidence of meeting #3 for Veterans Affairs in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was years.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Deputy Minister, Department of Veterans Affairs
What are you contemplating in terms of enhancing Canadians' remembrance of veterans, either in historical terms or in terms of a physical presence?
Conservative
Jean-Pierre Blackburn Conservative Jonquière—Alma, QC
First of all, I had an opportunity to attend an event in Quebec City in February—I mention this example because in my own province of Quebec, there is a gap in that regard. We held an event, as well as a press conference, under the banner “The Francophone Force”. We invited former soldiers who had fought in World War II; I'm thinking, in particular, of Mr. Lamontagne, who was the Mayor of Quebec City and Lieutenant Governor of Quebec. On that occasion, many former members of the Forces agreed to tell the story, on our website, of what they did during World War II and what their contribution was, so that this all becomes part of our collective memory.
And, as you can see, public events of this type are becoming more and more frequent, where people come together to honour those who died for us. It is a growing movement. I recently saw the boomers, for example—those who fought in World War II. They asked to have their own distinctive symbol—not quite a medal, but something to honour them. So, we are currently looking at the feasibility and cost of such an initiative.
If, in my time at the Department, I can do something to better serve the veterans of World War II, whose numbers are shrinking at a rate of 2,000 a month, and to give them a better quality of life, I think that we in the Department will have done something fitting for them in this last phase of their lives.
At the same time, it is up to us to adapt our services to these “new” veterans returning from Afghanistan or somewhere else, or from missions abroad. So, we are facing two challenges—two different challenges. As I say, if we don't give these people a chance to return to an active civilian life so that they can continue to grow, we will have missed the boat. It is critical that we succeed. That is our challenge, in the current budgetary context, as it is for any department.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative David Sweet
Thank you, Minister.
Thank you, Mr. McColeman.
It's 12:31 now. I understand that the minister needed to leave two minutes ago.
It's up to you, Minister, if you have some closing remarks. It's your schedule that we're trying to respect. I will allow you to make any closing remarks you like right now.
Conservative
Jean-Pierre Blackburn Conservative Jonquière—Alma, QC
Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, I do not have a monopoly on truth. You can all assist the Minister and the government, by helping us to improve our services. Of course, everything must be reasonable, because we all know that budgets are finite.
However, we have a responsibility to our armed forces, to those who defend us, and to whom we owe our quality of life today, because they fought for us; they went to war. We know that their spouses and their children as well make sacrifices because of the fallout from that. So, it is our responsibility to try and help them as much as we can.
If you have any suggestions, we welcome them.
Thank you.
Conservative
NDP
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
If you could kindly send the answers back to the committee, it would be great.
Thank you.
Conservative
NDP
Liberal
Scott Andrews Liberal Avalon, NL
I'd also like to know the amount of money that was in the monument restoration program as well.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative David Sweet
We'd also like to know the current budget.
Merci. Bonne journée.
I will be transmitting the new work plan to you by the end of the day today or tomorrow.
The meeting is adjourned.