Veterans Affairs Committee on May 3rd, 2021

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS]

Steven, thank you very much for that information, because 9,000 is just about 25% of the 40,000 who participated in the Afghan war, and that's major. That's really important.

I see Legions going out and trying to bring those individuals in more actively. I thank you for that work and that important celebration you brought to the table in 2015.

I hear from some Afghan veterans—March 31 marked seven years since the end of the Afghan war—that some of them still feel that the cenotaphs and the memorials don't recognize their dates and service of peace, if you want.

Are you hearing that, and what do you see as being a solution to that? I have a number of veterans who are saying they're not being recognized as they should be. What could you suggest?

[Steven Clark]

Yes, I'm hearing the same thing, and that should never be. We have to make sure that service is recognized, and something as simple as placing dates on a community war memorial will go a long way to showing those who served in Afghanistan that we really care what they did and want to recognize that.

As you know, those dates were added to the National War Memorial, something we've encouraged Legion branches across the country to do. If they have a Legion-owned memorial, please add those dates. If it's not a Legion-owned memorial, talk to the town or the municipality. They should be recognized; we can't forget them.

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS]

That's well said. Thank you very much for that, Steven.

I have one more quick question. How can we apply an Afghan veteran's lens to policy and decision-making?

[The Chair, Liberal, Bryan May]

Make it a very brief answer, please.

[Steven Clark]

Make sure you engage them in that decision-making process.

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS]

Bravo.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bryan May]

That was nice and brief. Thank you.

MP Desilets, please, you have two and a half minutes.

[Luc Desilets, Bloc, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Good afternoon.

The Remembrance Day ceremony is not only important as a tribute. For our veterans, it is also a great opportunity to get together, to socialize and to break their isolation. Last year, as many others did, you rightly asked to mark the occasion virtually. It was definitely a necessary evil.

You put together some great initiatives for youth, among others. I was amazed at the amount of writing you have received. It is phenomenal.

What does The Royal Canadian Legion plan to do this year if the celebrations are still virtual? How do you plan to reach out to our veterans virtually?

[Steven Clark]

We've been very fortunate that schools across the country still participated in the contest. Some of them may have been opened, and some may not, but they were still able to participate remotely. We have to make sure we continue that. Whatever means we have to undertake, we have to make sure we do that.

[Luc Desilets, Bloc, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

I understand. I may not have been clear. This is my question.

Do you have any idea what Remembrance Day will look like next year if the ceremony is held virtually? You are so creative.

[Steven Clark]

We don't have clarity on what the situation is going to be like next year for the 2022 ceremony. However, we have a sample protocol that we can follow if it is required that we do it either entirely virtually or as a hybrid. As we get closer, we'll know better, but the big thing we can do is to let people know what it's going to look like and to communicate that information as early as possible.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bryan May]

Thank you very much.

Now we'll move to MP Blaney for two and a half minutes, please.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Clark, for being here with us today.

Back in 2017 I was incredibly honoured to provide veteran Gordie Bannerman a replica of the monument that was built in Toronto commemorating those who fought in the Italian campaign in World War II. He was 95, and I was just incredibly happy to be with him and his family.

One of the things I learned about him was that in his eighties he learned how to type on a computer so he could work alongside some of his younger family members to get his stories on the website so people could see, hear and read his story. I know VAC has now recognized them and they are also on the VAC website. Choosing this method of course allowed younger people, including his family members, to engage with his story, and I think that's so very powerful.

I'm wondering if you could talk about the importance of keeping those stories alive in this country. I know multiple organizations are doing things. I'm wondering, from the Legion's perspective, how you are working to support saving these stories so young people will hear them in the future.

[Steven Clark]

It really is a living history, a first-hand account that we cannot lose. We have to take advantage of it. We have to gather these as much as possible. I know you heard last week from Caroline Dromaguet from the War Museum and about the new initiative they are getting under way, called “In Their Voices”. It's absolutely tremendous.

While the Legion itself is not actively going out doing the interviews, we're supporting organizations like the War Museum and those who have these projects already under way to enable them to continue on with this important work, because this is the way you pass the torch. It's a way that an individual—a veteran who experienced things first-hand—can pass those on to the next generation.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Thank you, sir. It's just so incredibly important. I'm wondering if you could also speak very briefly, since I have so little time, about how the Legion works so closely with cadets. I know in my riding, especially around Remembrance Day, you see so many of the cadets helping, but also standing in front of local grocery stores collecting resources to help veterans. I'm so inspired by that. I'm just wondering how it works. Would you talk about how important it is to engage these groups together to keep that remembrance alive?

[The Chair, Liberal, Bryan May]

Give a brief answer, please.

[Steven Clark]

The Legion has a terrific working relationship with the cadets. We support them as much as possible. We noticed a huge gap when we were not able to have their assistance during the poppy campaign this past year. We're going to continue to develop that relationship so that it gets even stronger.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bryan May]

Thank you all.

Up next we have Mr. Davidson for five minutes, please.

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that.

How are you, Mr. Clark? How are you doing?

[Steven Clark]

I'm well, Mr. Davidson, and you?

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

It's all good. Thanks for taking the time today. It's often said that what's remembered lives on, and I want to thank you and the Legion for all of the work you do.

I haven't been away in years. It was funny, and maybe Darrell will listen to this point. Canadians love to be inspired. The last time I was away I was sitting at the airport with my nephew and saw the Disney airplane, and he said to his dad, “Look at that. It's unbelievable.” We came back, and we had to get back to Orillia to see the CP Christmas train that was rolling through town.

I pick up on your comments, and the Legion is so good at the banner program and involving the private sector. I wondered if you have ever thought about teaming up with CP or CN, or asking Veterans Affairs to do some rail cars with veterans, or reaching out to Air Canada to do a couple of veterans' aircraft in celebration of that. Maybe you could speak to the private sector involvement quickly.

[Steven Clark]

Absolutely. It's interesting you should mention that. Back in 2006 the Legion in fact did have a partnership with Air Canada, where they placed a poppy decal on a number of their aircraft. The problem that we ran into was making sure that a decal could stay affixed to the aircraft skin when it was passing through the air at high speeds. It wasn't on the tail; it was actually at the door, so every person going on board that plane was able to see the poppy. We've done the same thing with VIA Rail for the last three or four years, where we have poppies on train cars and we have poppies available for distribution to any passenger who will be on that train car.

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

Instead of “I love Mickey Mouse”, I would love to see the tail of a 737 WestJet lit up, or the Christmas train that has lights on the CP train. That's just an idea.

Secondly, we did so well at the Legions in York—Simcoe, in my riding, with bottle drives. I don't want to say we drink too much in York—Simcoe, but I think we would have won the contest.

Mr. Clark, I've had a couple of Legions reach out to me. They were very thankful for the funding they got, but they're reaching out now and saying, “Scot, if this COVID continues, it's just not enough.”

I just wondered if you could speak quickly to just how much some Legions that you know of.... Even though we had the funding, if this continues and they miss another year, how detrimental is that going to be to some of our Legions?

[Steven Clark]

Absolutely. It will be. When we first applied the VOESF last year, we were looking at covering expenses for about an eight-month period. These closures have extended well beyond that—another five or six months. Now, there are as of Friday of this week another 884 Legions that will be receiving additional funding. That will help, and Legions are incredibly resilient and innovative in coming up with ideas to maintain their operations, but it is increasingly difficult. We have to look at other ways.

Last year the Legion's Dominion Command made available $3 million of its own reserves. In May of this year we'll be providing some more of that funding out to those branches that are really in need. We have to recognize that if we don't have Legion branches and members, then our entire organization will suffer. We have to avoid that.

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

I appreciate those comments.

I know on this committee we'll all be pulling, for sure, all the time for Legion.

Third, I would ask you, in the Legion's outreach to Veterans Affairs Canada, are there any suggestions that maybe that relationship isn't working for the Legion in the way it should, or that it's working well? Do you have any suggestions on the relationship you have with Veterans Affairs Canada?