Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chair, members of the committee, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. I am pleased and honoured to have been invited to speak before you this morning.
If I may just make an editorial comment, having heard Louis speak and knowing what he does, I fully support the advocacy that he has brought before this committee with respect to burials. I must also say that coming to sessions such as this is rather pleasant, mainly because I see people I haven't seen for some while. Louis is one of them. I haven't seen Louis for years, actually. He looks just as well as he did in former years.
What I want to talk to you about this morning is a documentary series that began about three and a half years ago. A gentleman by the name of Daniel Rodrique, who is the producer, had a vision of recording, in historical context, the stories of veterans and the experiences they had throughout a continuum commencing with the First World War and going up to, and including, Afghanistan. That dream was realized through the generous support of a number of private individuals, corporations, the government, and foundations. The principal sponsor of this documentary series is the Power Workers' Union, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario.
You might think the participation of the Power Workers' Union is a bit odd. Well, no, it really isn't, because the Power Workers' Union, like a number of other unions, employs a great number of veterans. To the dismay of the Department of National Defence and Canadian Forces, they poach technical people as well. They had a great interest in supporting this particular project. The other organizations that were quite supportive and encouraging were the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Air Force Association of Canada, at whose annual general meeting some three plus years ago we presented a promotional video outlining the documentary. Everything from there on is history.
The principal target of the documentary series is young Canadians. Why is this? It's because the documentary wishes to illustrate the attributes of civics, citizenship, nation-building, and leadership, as illustrated through the participation of Canada in foreign missions and conflicts. It documents the effects on Canada, Canadians, and the military. It takes as it's starting point World War I. Why World War I? World War I marked the coming of nationhood to Canada and to Canadians. For example, the Canadian Expeditionary Force, commanded by General Currie, was commanded by a Canadian. More to the point, General Currie reported to Ottawa and not the Colonial Office in Great Britain. The other reason is that World War I marks the industrialization of Canada and rather a monumental change in the demographics as they relate to employment, migrations after the war, and a number of other factors.
There are two streams to this documentary. The first is the military stream. That includes the First World War, the Second World War, Korea, peacekeeping operations, the Cold War, and participation in the Balkans, Iraq, and Afghanistan. What it looks at is how the changing nature of warfare affects military operations, military doctrine, education, training, and capital equipment purchases. What is also interesting is that it includes the contributions of civilians--that is, non-uniformed Canadians.
To cite an example vis-à-vis World War II--and some of that occurred in World War I as well--there's Rosie the Riveter: women working on the factory floors assembling aircraft, becoming machinists, replacing people in offices who participated in the theatres of war.
The other aspect is that it includes NGOs. It includes St. John Ambulance, the Salvation Army, and now it's called the Canadian Forces personnel support system, as well as Tim Hortons. And yes, Tim Hortons is very much involved in raising the morale of the troops, as it did in Kandahar. Whether or not it will be located in Kabul as the mission now changes to one of training remains to be seen.
It also addresses defence science and technology and the Canadian defence industrial base. Defence science technology is transferable. It has made an impact on positioning Canada in leadership positions, in the export market in specific areas, and in addition is a net contributor to the economy. The same applies to the Canadian defence industry per se.
As you can see, it is unique in the sense that it covers a time continuum and it covers all people in Canadian society, whether they be uniformed or not.
The other phase, which is really an umbrella phase, is the impact on Canada and Canadians. I think it's fair to say that as the military reflects the values, the mores, the culture of the society from which it comes and the society it serves, it also works in the reverse direction.
We have seen since World War I, for example, changes in Canadian values, Canadian culture, governance per se, and for that matter, Canada's position in the world. By that I suppose it might be trite to say that you have to pay the ante to play poker, but it is a fact of life. So Canada's participation in ensuring security, in protecting democracy, and championing human rights is indeed part of that ante that allows and has resulted in Canada's participation around world tables--for example, a seat at the tables in Paris on the conclusion of World War I, around which the shape of Europe was determined. It also impacts, for example, Canada's position in international fora, whether they be G-8, G-20, the IMF, the World Bank, and on the list goes.
In essence, what this documentary is trying to portray is the evolution of Canada through the eyes of those who were there.
The documentary was to consist of 52 episodes, but it's somewhat grown. I suspect that by the time we're finished it will be 60-plus episodes, each of 40 minutes in length. It will be in a bilingual format. And thanks to the kind generosity of the Department of Veterans Affairs, we've been able to ensure that the bilingual format is available. I spent seven weeks in Afghanistan, in January and February of this year, filming most of it outside the wire to ensure that this particular aspect was captured as well. And as some of you may know Roto 10, which is the last combat operation Roto for Task Force Kandahar, was based on the battle group that came out of CFB Valcartier.
The documentary has been gifted to the people of Canada free of charge. It is available on the Internet. We are presently negotiating with some of the broadcasters, television particularly, to have it shown in that particular media as well. But one can go to the Internet at www.pwu.ca, click on the logo of the veterans, and it is downloadable from there. And that “pwu” is the Power Workers' Union of Ontario.
The documentary was premiered on November 4, about a week or so ago, at the Canadian War Museum, in the Barney Danson Theatre. It was extremely well attended.
The Minister of Veterans Affairs, the Honourable Steven Blaney, spoke to the attendees, as did the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Walter Natynczyk.
Each of the episodes is introduced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Senator Pamela Wallin.
I might add that another aspect of the documentary is that it covers the media. It's important, because as the military reflects Canadian society, the media goes a little step further: it reflects Canada's values and society, but it also helps shape and influence them. In that respect, there was participation by Senator Wallin; Brian Stewart of the CBC, who I'm sure is well known to all of you; Tom Popyk, a lesser-known war correspondent who finds himself pretty well everywhere there is some conflict; and Matt Fisher.
That pretty well concludes my presentation in the context of the theme of this morning's meeting, commemorative celebrations in the 21st century. We're very pleased to have had an opportunity, through the production of this documentary, to celebrate contributions made by our serving men and women in uniform, as well as our veterans.
It has been quite an experience being involved in this. It marks quite a departure from what I am accustomed to doing, which constitutes about 23 years of service in the Canadian Forces, followed by about an equal period as a senior corporate executive in Canada and abroad. I may fancy myself as a bit of a videographer, although I rather doubt I could make that my daytime job, but it was a lot of fun.
It also caused me to reflect. I thought I had some notion of the role of Canada's military in nation-building, but I found that in travelling about and speaking to veterans and serving men and women of the armed forces, my knowledge was rather limited. In that regard, it was rather illuminating, and it increased my admiration and respect for those particular individuals, including Canadians who did not serve in uniform but whose contributions were critical. Without those contributions we could not have concluded in the fashion we did.
Interviewing veterans turned out to be a painful experience. My principal deployments abroad during the time I was in the military were related to peacekeeping operations, which are very different from peacemaking operations or coalition operations such as we experience today. The suffering and pain that is experienced by veterans and those who still serve in the military and their families and friends is unimaginable. How they manage to cope impresses me tremendously. That's why the advocacy that Lou has presented this morning in terms of--I don't want to trivialize--the cradle-to-grave aspect is very important.
As far as the changing nature of warfare, we look at World War I as shell shock, World War II and Korea as battle fatigue, and most recently post-traumatic stress disorder, which has now been bundled into something very much larger called occupational stress injuries. In this regard, I commend the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of National Defence, and the Royal Canadian Legion for doing what they can to help people who are so distressed cope.
That's not to say that all that can be done has been done, because there certainly is a lot more to do. But there has been a start, and it's through the concern and the care of people such as General Cuppens here and others that this is now being addressed.
It's been an experience. It's been a lot of fun. I'm glad it's over. I can get back to my other life, whatever it is going to be after this particular experience. Again, I'd like to thank you very much for inviting me to be with you this morning to share these particular experiences.
I have here a memory stick that has on it an interview that I did with the CBC, which takes on another vein in which you may be interested. I have brought you some programs that represent what transpired during the gala premiere at the War Museum. You're welcome to have one of these. If you need more, please ask and they will be there. It also includes a list of those people who contributed in one fashion or another. It's quite extensive, and I thank them all.
The painting here was volunteered by a local artist who wants to express in her own way her thanks to our veterans and serving men and women. Her name is Shelly Den. Indeed, it went very well.
Thank you.
I am very happy to be here this morning.