Mr. Speaker, Canadians have been shocked to learn that the war medals of deceased Canadian World War I veteran, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, hero and author of the enduring poem, In Flanders Fields , will be auctioned off this Saturday in Toronto. In Flanders Fields became the world's most popular poem of the first world war. It is now read throughout the world every year on Remembrance Day. Even the symbolic poppy was chosen out of the popularity of John McCrae's poem.
As we near Remembrance Day many Canadians will be touched by the words of John McCrae. I am afraid that this year Canadians may not just be mourning the loss of hundreds of thousands of Canadian war veterans but also the loss of an important piece of our heritage.
I urge the Minister of Canadian Heritage to prevent our heritage from being auctioned away. I ask her to assure the House that she will obtain these medals for the dignity of our veterans who fought for this country and for the memory of our Canadian hero John McCrae and place them in the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.