Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to address Motion M-75, moved by the New Democrat member for Kamloops.
The motion reads as follows:
That, in the opinion of this House, the government should consider the advisability of giving to the members of the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion and other Canadians who fought with Spanish Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939, the status of veterans under the federal legislation and making them eligible for veterans' pensions and benefits.
Let me say from the outset that some of my colleagues are using all sorts of excuses not to support this motion, including the financial impact and the fear of setting a precedent. I remind them that, if the motion is adopted, it will not be binding.
Indeed, the motion merely asks that a committee consider the advisability of recognizing the contribution made by Canadian soldiers in the Spanish Civil War to protect democracy. The committee will be free to make whatever recommendations it deems advisable.
In a letter dated November 20, 1997 and addressed to the hon. member for Kamloops, the Minister of Veterans Affairs wrote the following, concerning the 1987 review made by the veterans affairs committee on the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion “I agree with the committee's conclusions that we should deplore the losses suffered by the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion, and that we should admire the endurance and the courage displayed by the battalion”.
If the minister was sincere when he wrote these lines, he should support the motion. The Canadians who participated in the Spanish Civil War left their homeland for a far away country, where they were going to risk their lives, along with other volunteers from all over the world. These people were united by the same cause, namely the defence of democracy and the right of people to freely choose their government through an election.
These men and women were not adventurers. They left their families, their work and their country to join an under equipped army that was fighting seasoned troops fully supported by the fascist governments of Germany and Italy.
Over 40,000 volunteers from 52 countries answered the call of a democratic Spain. These volunteers were not equipped, fed or housed adequately, and almost half of them were killed, while many others were injured.
These volunteers were fighting to protect Spain's democratic institutions. The word “antifascist” was written on their pay slips. It is important to remember that the Spanish government which fascist generals were trying to overthrow was an elected, democratic and liberal government.
The international brigades fought under the command of the legitimate Spanish government's army. The Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion was part of the 15th brigade, which also included a British, an American and a Spanish battalion.
The Canadian battalion, named in honour of the two leaders of the 1837 rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada, was formed on July 1, 1937 at Albacete, Spain. It was made up of some 1,200 volunteers and distinguished itself particularly in four campaigns: the attack on Fuentes on the River Ebre in the fall of 1937; the defence of the city of Teruel during the winter of 1937-38; the spring retreat of 1938; and finally, the push beyond the River Ebre in the summer of 1938, which was to be the last great offensive of the republican forces.
In September 1938, the soldiers of the international brigades were withdrawn from the front lines and repatriated. Only half the Canadian volunteers came back. The other half had been either killed, reported missing or captured, with the exception of a few who remained in Europe.
When they returned home, some of the Spanish War veterans were given a heroes' welcome. Money was raised to help them out and to provide the casualties with medical care. Within a few months, however, their sacrifice and heroism was forgotten. Canada soon declared war on the Axis and called for the nation to mobilize against the fascists.
Of the fifty or so countries whose men and women took part in the Spanish Civil War within the international brigades, only two, Canada and the United States, did not confer war veteran status on these volunteers.
Today, about forty of the Canadian international brigade volunteers are still alive, although very advanced in years. Passage of the motion by the member for Kamloops would not cost the federal government much, but it would have great symbolic importance. It would recognize the some 1,200 Canadians who volunteered to defend democracy and to prevent the birth of a fascist regime in Spain on the eve of the second world war.
The democratic and patriotic ideals that inspired their struggle and their heroic sacrifice also inspired the Canadians who, later, fought fascism during the second world war.
Walter Dent explained that a number of the former volunteers on the international brigades contributed directly during the second world war through their experience. One of them became the chief instructor of the armoured tank corps in Alberta. Another taught officers how to read and draw maps.
The principal organizer of the British Home Guard was the former commander of the English battalion in Spain. The chief instructor of the secret war, who wrote a manual that was used by the American and British armies, was Bert Levy, a former brigade member, who was an American of Canadian origin. A number of parachuters dropped behind enemy lines were Spanish war veterans.
Proof that these volunteers were first and foremost believers in democracy lies in the fact that many of them returned to the countries of eastern Europe after the war and continue to defend democracy. They were punished and persecuted by the totalitarian regimes.
In 1980, the councils of seven Canadian cities passed resolutions asking the federal government to recognize the volunteers in the Mackenzie-Papineau battalion. They are Calgary, North York, Ottawa, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver.
In 1995, all parties in the Spanish Parliament voted in favour of making all survivors of international brigades honourary Spanish citizens. Citizenship award ceremonies were held in November 1996, and 12 of the 40 Canadian veterans of international brigades took part.
Spain provided a small commemorative plaque in memory of the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion, which was installed on the grounds of the Ontario legislature by the National Historic Sites and Monuments Board in 1995.
The inscription on the plaque is to the effect that Spain will not forget those Canadians who fought and gave their lives on behalf of democracy. It is finally time for Canada as well to pay tribute to these heroic individuals who volunteered their services to defend democracy. That is why the Bloc Quebecois will be voting in favour of this motion.