Debates of May 8th, 1995

V-E Day

[Ronald J. Duhamel, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, for over a year now, Canadians have been planning to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the events that led to the end of the second world war. Hundreds of commemorative activities have already been held in various communities across Canada. Through ceremonies, concerts, exhibitions and storytelling, Canadians are paying tribute to those who gave their lives to overcome tyranny.

There are no words to express the pride I feel toward my country, a country that was effectively created by the men and women who fought for our freedom. It is because of both those who did not come back and those who are still among us, along with the thousands of Canadians who supported their efforts, that we now enjoy a quality of life and freedoms without parallel. Today I want to thank and honour them.

President Of French Republic

[Yves Rocheleau, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Quebecois wishes to salute the election of the Mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac, as President of the French Republic. During his seven-year mandate, Mr. Chirac, a man of vast experience, will probably have to face the major challenges that await France as the next millennium approaches. When Quebec Premier Jacques Parizeau visited France in January, the new French president said that if Quebecers decided in favour of sovereignty, France would no doubt be among the first to say that it would accompany them along that road.

For his part, the Prime Minister of Canada implied a few months ago that Jacques Chirac had as little chance of winning the presidential election as the sovereignists had of winning their referendum. Again, history is waiting for our Prime Minister just around the corner.

National Nursing Week

[Margaret Bridgman, Reform, Surrey North, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this week is National Nursing Week. As a nurse, I realize the important role nurses fulfil in our health care system and the many challenges they face daily.

Nurses face the seemingly never ending challenge of providing more services at higher standards with less funding. This is the result of a combination of today's fiscal constraints, rising health costs, public expectation, and the expanding role of health services.

Changes in the role nurses play have great potential to improve cost effectiveness in our health care system. For instance, in many cases nurses can provide the necessary education, guidance, and care without the patient having to visit or revisit a physician.

Our health care is too important an issue to be left only to politicians. Health care debates and decisions must involve all major players, and nurses are ideally positioned. I ask all members in the House to join me in saluting all of Canada's nurses today.

World Red Cross And Red Crescent Day

[Maria Minna, Liberal, Beaches—Woodbine, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce that May 8 is World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day. This day is meant to celebrate international understanding and promote the humanitarian cause of the Red Cross Society of Canada.

This year's theme is dignity for all and respect for women. World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day acknowledges the millions of people suffering from the consequences of war due to ethnic and other violence, natural disasters, and malnutrition. It appeals to people all over the world to respect the dignity of those most in need. For nearly 100 years, the Canadian Red Cross Society has maintained a Canadian tradition of providing humanitarian assistance whenever and wherever it is needed. Often the Red Cross is the only organization allowed to bring assistance to war zones.

Please join me in congratulating the many volunteers of the Red Cross Society for their selfless efforts and understanding work and in wishing them a very successful Red Cross and Red Crescent Day.

V-E Day

[Pauline Picard, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on this 50th anniversary of V-E Day in Europe, we will recall that although far from the battle, all of America was deeply concerned about the events taking place in Europe. While thousands of Quebecers and Canadians were fighting abroad, thousands of others contributed to the war effort on the home front.

I am referring in particular to all those women who provided support to the combatants. I am thinking about the nurses, the women who worked on farms and in factories and those who produced war materials. To all those women who, through their courage and hard work, contributed to the war effort, we are expressing today our most sincere admiration and deepest gratitude.

Taxation

[Jim Abbott, Reform, Kootenay East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Reform Party MPs have given thumbs up to the first piece of legislation in Canadian history to actively keep government honest and accountable to Canadians.

The taxpayer protection act is a chance for governments to show Canadians that government can be responsible with tax dollars while giving Canadians an opportunity to have a direct say on how much money they can afford to pay.

The taxpayer protection act would require deficit control and reduction. It would limit expenditure increases to the rate of growth in the economy or population growth. It would also keep tax increases in check in the same way. The taxpayer protection act would not say how the money is to be spent but how much money is to be spent.

The Liberals are famous for stealing good political ideas before, during and even between elections. I therefore challenge the Liberals to embrace this Reform idea, a federal taxpayer protection act, and show Canadians that even they can be truly responsible and accountable.

V-E Day

[Bonnie Hickey, Liberal, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on this 50th anniversary of V-E Day to pay tribute to the Canadians who helped bring about the end of the second world war.

During the war thousands of men and women from the Dominion of Newfoundland proudly served with the allied armies, navies, and air forces. Thousands of others served with the merchant navy, risking their lives to keep the vital shipping lines across the Atlantic open.

Members of the Newfoundland Overseas Forestry Unit worked in Britain to ensure the continuing supply of lumber, while many others joined the British Home Guard.

At home, people felt the reality of this war as well. In the fall of 1942 four allied ships were sunk by U-boats off Bell Island of Newfoundland, the only community in North America to come under direct enemy fire. Sixty-nine men were killed and a memorial now stands in Lance Cove in their honour.

As Mr. Churchill said 50 years ago, "Today is V-E Day; long live the cause of peace".

[John English, Liberal, Kitchener, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in the 1940s young men and women left Canada's farms and factories, villages and cities to fight a war that had to be fought. They were young men and women like Earl Grummett, who fought from D-Day's beaches to Holland along the Maple Leaf route; like Stanley Kudoba, who spent the war's last hours fighting the enemy in a small Dutch village; or like Lottie Kosiorek, who was freed from a forced labour camp.

Today we celebrate those who triumphed over Nazism and fascism 50 years ago. How thrilling it was for us to hear the Dutch Prime Minister say on Saturday, "Thank you, Canadians, from the bottoms of our hearts".

These men and women were the glory of their times. Let us honour them today in our times for the great deeds they did for all of us.

National Forest Week

[Ben Serré, Liberal, Timiskaming—French-River, ON]

Mr. Speaker, to mark National Forest Week, I would like to acknowledge the great contribution made by the federal government and

all other participants to the model forest program. This program has gone a long way toward integrating principles of sustainable forestry into logging operations in Canada.

The model forest program has in just three years firmly established a nationwide network of ten large-scale model forest partnerships. The worldwide notoriety of this project has helped to place Canada in a leadership role in forest management.

These partnerships are comprised of willing and committed individuals, encompassing a broad spectrum of our society, including academics, students, traditional and non-traditional forest-based industries, foresters, and First Nations groups.

I wish to congratulate all the dedicated people working together for the sustainable development of Canadian forest resources.

National Mining Week

[Réginald Bélair, Liberal, Cochrane—Superior, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the government and the hon. Minister of Natural Resources in particular for establishing National Mining Week.

This is a timely recognition of mining's importance to Canada and to regions of the country such as northern Ontario.

In Ontario, with 56 mines and 103 quarries, the mining sector contributed $4.9 billion to the economy last year. There are 300 companies providing mines with services and equipment.

The mining industry is a high-tech industry, very much part of our new economy. It is developing technologies for robotics and process control and anti-pollution systems. In addition, the mining industry has invested heavily in training and boasts a highly skilled workforce.

Ontario's mines have played and continue to play a leading role in developing these technologies. In areas like northern Ontario, mining is an integral part of our heritage. Mining is also an essential part of our present and our future.

I look forward to National Mining Week as an annual celebration to raise the profile of mining among all Canadians.

V-E Day

[Paul Mercier, Bloc, Blainville—Deux-Montagnes, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as an Allied force veteran, it is with emotion that I share in this pride we are all feeling today on this 50th anniversary of the Allied victory in Europe.

On this occasion, let us remember that more than one million Quebecers and Canadians joined the armed forces during the second world war and made a major contribution to the liberation of Europe, notably Belgium, where I was born, from its oppressor. And more than 42,000 of them lost their lives in the process.

I want to draw attention to the courage of the Quebec service members who fought in the Netherlands, among other places, where many distinguished themselves. We thank all those Quebecers and Canadians who served at the front, were killed at sea, on land and in the air or risked their lives to overcome tyranny.

National Forestry Week

[Bob Ringma, Reform, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday marked the start of National Forestry Week.

Forestry was a major force involved in the founding of many of the communities within my riding of Nanaimo-Cowichan and continues to be a vital economic activity throughout the riding today. At the same time, the people of Nanaimo-Cowichan have a great respect and appreciation for not only the revenue but also the beauty provided by the forests. We realize the importance of striking a balance between the environment and the economy.

To help celebrate National Forestry Week, a constituent of mine, Mr. Ed McDonald, a forestry technician with 40 years experience, has graciously donated western cedar seedlings to each member of the House of Commons. On behalf of Mr. McDonald, I invite all MPs to pick up a beautiful B.C. seedling from the antechamber. In planting these cedars, I hope all members will become more aware of the value of our forests in both environmental and economic terms.

Rail

[Vic Althouse, NDP, Mackenzie, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it seems to be only those countries with declining economic prospects that are forced to get rid of their national railways. Mexico,

buffeted by the currency traders, is offering its national railway to outside investors. Canada is doing the same.

Yet the American government continues to pour money into its rail and port system. One recent example is $1.6 billion to improve rail and terminal facilities in Long Beach, California, to "enhance export capabilities".

The Netherlands Parliament has just approved an expenditure of almost $6 billion for a 75-mile link to connect Germany's Ruhr industrial belt to Rotterdam.

If the Liberals could see what the Dutch and the Americans see, that trade and transport are intertwined, we would be investing to aid our exporters instead of giving up on the CNR and selling it out.

Bill C-41

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, according to the 1993 violence against women survey by Statistics Canada, 29 per cent of women, or 2.7 million women, who have ever been married or lived in a common law relationship have been physically or sexually assaulted by their partners. Forty-four per cent of the cases involved a weapon and 45 per cent resulted in physical injury.

We are all painfully aware of the seriousness of the problem and the negative consequences not only to those involved but to society as a whole. In fact we may have been so overwhelmed by the tragic statistics and pleas for help over so many years that I fear we may have become desensitized to the severity of the problem.

I call to the attention of the House Motion No. 15 to Bill C-41, which would assist in addressing this most serious problem. I ask all members to seriously consider this motion as our opportunity to send a clear and tough message to spouse abusers.

V-E Day

[Ovid Jackson, Liberal, Bruce—Grey, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the House that Edmund Burke said that all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men or women to do nothing.

Fifty years ago today one million Canadians took up the charge to fight the evil. I was reminded of this yesterday at a church service of the Branch 6 Legion, which had three Victoria Cross members. They were Billy Bishop, Tommy Holmes, and David Currie. David Currie was a second world war veteran who risked his life to defend a group of tanks in the army in 1944.

I would like to thank all Canadians and in particular the Grey and Simcoe Foresters and Branch 6 for their help during the war. I would like to thank their families as well for what they put up with in order to ensure that we have the democracy we have today.

[Martin Cauchon, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we mark today the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Europe and the end of the second world war.

Thousands of Canadians took part in this conflict from which many never returned. Today, we pay tribute to these soldiers for their courage and their bravery. May 8, 1945, is the day that freedom triumphed over oppression and tyranny.

I hope that that day and all of the sacrifices that made it possible remain deeply etched in our memories so that this tragedy will be the last of its kind.

Health

[Keith Martin, Reform, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the health care system in this country is now in serious crisis; five-month waits for heart surgery, thirteen-month waits for hip replacement, and increasing numbers of bed closures are now commonplace.

Every year tens of thousands of Canadians are shocked into reality when they find out timely and accessible health care is not available to them. The primary reason for this is there is not enough money to pay for the demands on our health care system.

The time for solutions is now, otherwise we will see the demise of publicly funded health care in Canada. Therefore we must define essential health care services and ensure that all Canadians are covered regardless of their financial status. We must amend the Canada Health Act to allow the provinces to work with different funding models. We must also ensure federal funds given to the provinces go to health care and are not siphoned off into other programs.

We must be innovative to work to ensure that high quality, accessible health care is available to all Canadians.

[The Speaker]

Before we proceed to question period there is a point of order which I will permit from the hon. member for Kingston and the Islands.

[Peter Milliken, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I think you will find unanimous consent to proceed immediately with statements by ministers. Following the minister's statement and the two normal responses from each party in opposition, I think you will also find

a disposition on the part of the House to permit the hon. member for Kamloops to say a few words.

[The Speaker]

Is there unanimous consent?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

V-E Day

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pride to rise this afternoon in this place of piece to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe.

On May 8, 1945, before some of us were born, Canadians old and young paraded in the streets, gathered on Parliament Hill, lit victory bonfires; church bells rang and children shouted in joy. The second world war was over in Europe and loved ones would soon be coming home.

With the news that the great war was over so too was the worry that a father or a son, a sister or a friend would not live to see and feel the peace for which they had fought and for which so many had died.

In the homes of Canada the sounds of victory that bellowed from Europe echoed like a profound sigh of relief.

And for those who had lost a loved one in the war, there was at least the consolation that others would not have to suffer from the same pain that gripped them, and that the war would no longer make young widows out of young brides.

Today, thousands of Canadian veterans are commemorating this anniversary in a very special way: They returned to Europe's battlefields of 50 years past. They returned to say their goodbyes to friends who are dead but not forgotten. Several of them returned to Holland, a grateful country which warmly welcomed them. They were greeted as liberators. They were showered with the same love and exuberance that they received in the spring of 1945.

Today, as they did 50 years ago, the Dutch people are welcoming Canadians into their homes and hearts. They are showing the gratitude that a people have for their liberators; the gratitude of a people who know what freedom is because they had it taken away. It is the gratitude that a people have for the soldiers, some of whom are in the gallery today, who ended their starvation and who fought a desperate battle against a vicious enemy. It is the gratitude for the young Canadian soldier far away from home who fought beside a brother at one moment and then in a burst of fire became a memory the next. It is the gratitude for those young Canadians who fought through the cold and the mud, through the rain and the blood, through the pain, until the people of Holland found their liberation and Europe found its victory.

Ik bedaank het nederlandse volk for de gast vrijheid.

The battle in Holland was not a battle for conquest; it was a battle for freedom. It was battle that cost the lives of 7,000 young Canadians who lie buried in the peace they won.

Canada paid a great price for that peace. It is a price we measure each time a veteran sees a small Dutch child, as we saw today near Parliament Hill. It is the price of making the world safe and decent for all our children. It is the price our country was willing to pay.

This morning, the MPs of this House attended ceremonies to honour the sacrifice of those who served Canada in those six years of conflict. We gathered at the War Memorial to pay tribute to those who gave their lives for freedom and to honour the peace we inherited from them.

In his eloquent speech at the Groesbeek cemetery in Holland on Saturday, the Prime Minister said: "You made it possible for us to live, grow and prosper in peace. Your legacy is a proud and independent country which grew from infancy to adulthood during the war".

On this day, the 50th anniversary of V-E Day, we oblige ourselves to preserve this legacy for all the days to come. We oblige ourselves to keep this vigil of peace constant from parent to child, from teacher to student, from generation to generation.

We pay tribute to their great sacrifices and to the ideals that inspired those sacrifices. Canadians fought and died on the fields of Europe to preserve the democratic ideals that make Canada the envy of the world.

Today we stand proud on the world stage because 50 years ago our veterans dug in and told the enemy: "We are the Canadians. We are the bitter enemy of your oppression. We will not rest until your tyranny has ended. We will not rest until we share our freedom with the world".

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, exactly 50 years ago the war ended in Europe and the end of the world conflict, which came on August 15, 1945 with the surrender of Japan, seemed imminent.

Today we celebrate the triumph of freedom and democracy. But we also commemorate the sacrifices made by those to whom we owe this victory and this legacy of freedom and democracy.

The road to victory was a long and arduous one. From Italy to France, from Belgium to the Netherlands, tens of thousands of our soldiers gave their lives to liberate Europe from its oppressors.

Today we want to thank them, all those who served on the front, the sailors and airmen from every part of Canada, the merchant seamen, the nurses, all the men and women who risked or lost their lives in order to defeat tyranny.

We must never forget that more than a million of our fellow citizens enlisted in the Canadian forces during the second world war; 100,000 were wounded and more than 45,000 made the ultimate sacrifice.

Although far from the conflict, the whole of the American continent was profoundly touched by the war that had inflamed Europe. As thousands of young people left for the front, thousands of other citizens contributed to the war effort on the home front in the factories, on the farms and in the militia.

I would like to recall the particularly heroic role played by thousands of soldiers from Quebec who fought in the Netherlands, side by side with their fellow citizens from other Canadian provinces. There was the Régiment de Maisonneuve, the Fusiliers Mont-Royal, the Royal 22e Régiment and the Régiment de la Chaudière.

The extent of human loss and the horror of the suffering inflicted on nations during this endless war are beyond belief. The figures themselves which refer to thousands of dead are shocking but fall far short of expressing the grim facts. For instance, they do not reflect the horror of the concentration camps and the genocide of the Jews.

And at home, who can adequately describe the sorrow of mothers and fathers who lost a son in the flower of his youth? What can we say to widows and orphans, brothers and sisters, bereft of a loved one who went overseas and met a hero's fate on the battlefield? The most eloquent and authentic memorial to those who died is the silence that prevails among the little crosses that mark the grassy graves, row on row, in cemeteries spread over Northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

These people went into battle and these lives were sacrificed so there would be no more wars and so future generations would be spared this horror and suffering. Unfortunately, many bloody conflicts are raging throughout the world.

And now, consider those who have accepted the responsibility for maintaining peace in the world. I am thinking of the UN peacekeeping force and especially our Canadian soldiers now on peacekeeping missions. Every day they witness acts of atrocity against civilian populations.

The ceremonies being held today hold out some hope that the world will remember the horrors of the second world war and learn the lessons it teaches us.

Mr. Speaker, we must continue to thank those who died and those who survived this monstrous tragedy. Let us honour their memory.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Calgary Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the victory in Europe, V-E Day, let us give meaning and commitment to our promise to remember.

Let us truly remember the people involved, in particular our service people, our merchant seamen, the men and women of ferry command and civilians overseas. Let us truly remember also those who served in Canada, including the families of those overseas.

Let us truly remember those who were killed or wounded in action. Let us remember what Stan Waters, a former commander of the Canadian Armed Forces, once told us, that there are no hyphenated Canadians in the graveyards of Europe; just Canadians period.

Let us remember those who were wounded and those who lost their life. We must not forget Stan Waters, a former commander in the Canadian Armed Forces, who once told us: "There are no hyphenated Canadians in the graveyards of Europe, just Canadians period".

Let us truly remember the millions who died in the Holocaust and the millions of civilians who were killed during the war around the world and let us truly remember and honour those who made it safely through to V-E Day, many of whom are still with us.

Let us truly remember that the struggle for freedom, liberty and democracy is never over. It goes on all over the world, including here in Canada. It is not a struggle to be taken for granted.

This principle is captured in the motto of the supreme headquarters of the allied powers in Europe: "Vigilance is the price of liberty". This principle can be captured here in Canada without a motto by declaring that if we value freedom and democracy we must work at retaining or improving it every day of our lives.

Let us celebrate the anniversary of V-E Day by truly remembering the price of freedom was not just paid in the past. Let us honour the sacrifices of the past by discharging with meaning and commitment our ongoing obligations to the preservation and improvement of democracy today.

[Nelson Riis, NDP, Kamloops, BC]

Mr. Speaker, today marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe. Some 500,000 Canadian veterans of World War II are still with us today to rejoice in the V-E Day celebrations. They, along with their families, friends and all who supported them, are very special people, for they serve to demonstrate that good can triumph over evil. They left home and country and travelled to foreign lands and seas to combat tyranny and oppression.

Today we pay tribute to their great sacrifices and to those ideals of peace, freedom and democracy that inspired those sacrifices.

While tens of thousands commemorate the anniversary throughout Canada via a number of venues, many vets have returned to Europe to revisit old battle sites, to tell a new generation about the horrors of war, to reacquaint themselves with old friends and make new friends; especially to remember their fallen but not forgotten comrades, the 45,000 who paid the ultimate price so that we may know a legacy of peace and freedom today.

In the Glen , the regimental newspaper of the Calgary Highlanders, is published a short poem with the heading ``The War in Europe is Over!'' It reads:

We came from all walks of life from coast to coast Making one of the finest fighting forces in the the world Yes, unity was achieved and victory was the result Soon we expect to go home and back to a normal life Let us not forget Let us not allow ourselves to fall for lies or propaganda Which will have French-speaking Canadians against English-speaking Canadians, Jews against Catholics And Protestants against Catholics East against west We must go back and maintain our unity achieved through Sweat and blood We won a great victory for mankind Above all we must remember those comrades of ours who gave Their lives fighting to make a world which will know no war And in which there will be real happiness for all Let us go back together as Canadians to make Canada A happy place for all We must not fail

For all who cherish freedom today, remember to thank a veteran.