Thanks, Madam Chair.
I move the following motion:
That the committee report to the House its recommendation for the creation of an independent Canadian Military Honours Review Board with the specific mandate to review decisions made under the Directorate of Honours and Recognition and its precursor bodies when new evidence demonstrates that the reconsideration of a military honour is warranted to ensure that no error or omission was made.
I'll speak briefly to it.
Many of the people who have called for this board to be created have referred, of course, to the case of Jess Larochelle. For the benefit of those who aren't familiar with it, I'll briefly summarize it.
Jess Larochelle served our country in Afghanistan. He was in a post that came under attack by the Taliban. The post he was in was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade. He was knocked unconscious, and when he came to, I think he knew he had some pretty serious injuries. I'll summarize what those turned out to be. Obviously, he had a concussion, but he also had blown eardrums, a detached retina, a broken back and a broken vertebra in his neck. Despite those injuries, he carried on and provided cover for a long period of time, and he was able to ultimately force back the Taliban advance.
There's obviously considerable heroism and bravery in what he did. He then carried on to make sure that he was there to participate in the ramp ceremony for one of his friends who had been killed in that action. It was at that point when he presented that he may have some injuries.
Unfortunately, it wasn't determined at the time that he would be awarded the Victoria Cross. He was given an honour, but not the Victoria Cross. I think there is a lot of new information now that's come forward about his case that would indicate he should have perhaps received the Victoria Cross.
This isn't about just Jess Larochelle. It's about many heroes who have served, particularly in Afghanistan, since the 1993 creation of a Canadian Victoria Cross, which has never been awarded. Over 40,000 Canadians served in Afghanistan, and there are a number of stories of heroism and bravery that should have perhaps resulted in the awarding of the Victoria Cross.
The idea is for Canadians to understand that it isn't just about World War I or World War II veterans when we think about veterans. It's about those heroes who live among us now—those who served in Afghanistan and other places—and the idea that they should be recognized too. This gives an opportunity for those kinds of reviews to take place and for these heroes to be recognized in the way they deserve.
I want to thank a number of people. I want to thank Bruce Moncur, from Valour in the Presence of the Enemy, who has been relentless in pushing this forward.
I thank General Rick Hillier, who I think now admits, even though he was involved in some of these decisions at the time, that there may have been mistakes. It takes a big man to admit that a mistake may have been made. Also, I think he's clearly someone who many of our veterans, if asked who should be their voice behind this, would have at the top of their list.
Of course, I thank MP Pauline Rochefort for bringing forward this petition, and previous MPs who also brought forward petitions on this. I also thank my previous Conservative colleague, Erin O'Toole, who previously brought forward a motion in the House of Commons to try to see this happen. Unfortunately, it ultimately didn't get the support of the government at the time, but I believe we're in a place now where we're able to see this move forward.
I put this motion forward, and I certainly hope and expect it will get all-party support to move forward.
Thank you.