Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege today of participating in the debate on Motion M-75 tabled by my NDP colleague, the hon. member for Kamloops.
I rise today to speak in support of Canada recognizing the loyalty and sacrifice of members of the MacKenzie-Papineau Battalion. I call today on the good will and generosity of my fellow citizens.
Three years before World War II, the Spanish civil war broke out pitting brothers against brothers, sisters against sisters. Franco and his army won the war and the fascist dictatorship lasted 40 years, in fact until the dictator died in 1976.
This conflict was not merely a civil war for the repercussions went far beyond. Claude Bowers, the American ambassador to Spain between 1936 and 1939, said at the time: “History will declare that the six months intervening between the fascist victory in Spain and the invasion of Poland were a mere armistice in one war, the second world war”.
In my view the Spanish civil became the powder keg that ignited the second world war just as an infamous assassination in Sarajevo laid the groundwork for World War I.
The Spanish republican government, democratically elected and therefore legitimate, appealed to the international community for help.
In spite of the stated neutrality of their governments, volunteers came from Argentina, Cuba, Poland, Sweden, the U.S.S.R., Great Britain, the United States, France and other countries.
Brave antifascist citizens of Italy and Germany risked their lives and that of their families to help the cause of a democratic country that Franco would transform into a dictatorship for 40 years. In Canada, close to 1,250 men and women with names like Maurice Constant, Peter Johnston, Hugo Koski and William Dent, to name but four, left their homeland for the battlefields of Spain.
These Canadians, most of whom were of European descent, had suffered from the consequences of the first world war. However, the vast majority of them were not soldiers and had never even handled a firearm. Most were blue collar workers, journeymen, students, citizens of Canada at a time when our country was still suffering from the severe economic depression of the 1920s and 1930s.
Norman Bethune was one of these brave Canadians. As head of an innovative battlefield blood transfusion service, Bethune witnessed the horrors and became rapidly conscious of the stakes of war. He is often quoted as having said “The time to stop fascism is now and the place to stop it is Spain”.
Another brave Canadian was Maurice Constant, then staff lieutenant for the 15th International Brigade and now emeritus professor at the University of Waterloo. Constant recalls living through the Great Depression. He said “People of my generation had the same feelings as young people now; the feeling of helplessness. There were no jobs to go to. We students thought the political-economic system was a failure”.
The Great Depression had a profound impact on Canadians. Therefore, it is logical to say that, for the brave soldiers of the Mackenzie-Papineau battalion, participating in the war was a way to escape marginalization, a way to relate to some absolute, to make it through the ideological undertow toward the certainty that the fight against European fascism was honourable and necessary.
Let us not forget—and this is fundamental—that General Franco overthrew an established democracy. In 1986, when he testified before the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs, Walter Dent, secretary for the Mac-Paps battalion, said “General Franco decided to overthrow the government. Therefore, what is at issue is not kind of people that were fighting fascism. We were fighting to protect the country's democratic institutions. This must be pointed out very clearly, so that there can be no doubt whatsoever”.
In 1980 during a debate very similar to this one Bob Rae, then a federal member of Parliament, stated when speaking of the Mac-Paps that they were anti-fascist before it was fashionably popular to be so.
The presence and popularity of pro-fascist sentiments in the Canadian population and institutions led to the birth in 1936 of Canadian legislation which partially reflected the state of mind of a certain fascist electorate.
The Foreign Enlistment Act of 1936 made it illegal for volunteers to fight against fascism in Spain because, at the time, Canada was playing it safe and professed neutrality on the international scene.
Is it not in the Canadian nature to want to preserve democracy? Is altruism not a Canadian trait? Is it not typically Canadian to fight for peace, order and good government?
Why are we still talking about the Spanish civil war in Canada today? For the simple reason that some of our fellow Canadian citizens have not reached closure on this matter.
Religious, political and philosophical beliefs aside, these brave Canadians had the vision and courage to recognize that Franco's army not only posed a threat to Spain but also jeopardized the foundation of democratic nations in Europe and the balance in their relations with Canada.
Who are the veterans of the MacKenzie-Papineau battalion today? Following their heart-wrenching defeat, about 650 veterans returned to Canada. They were greeted as heroes in Toronto, where a crowd of over 10,000 had gathered to meet them. Groups such as the friends of the MacKenzie-Papineau battalion organized fundraising events to help survivors and the families of those fallen comrades. But soon the plight of the Mac-Paps was engulfed by the overriding priorities of World War II.
Today, there are fewer than 35 members of the battalion still alive, most of them in their 90s. They could however benefit from the federal government's financial support, because they were never recognized as veterans by our government.
These Canadian citizens are brave men and women who survived harsh fighting in the Spanish Civil War. These men and women, motivated by their love of freedom, engaged Franco's nationalist forces in Spain without the support of their government.
These once defiant individuals have lived for over 60 years as model Canadians. They came home to Canada and they went back
Youth and idealism do not excuse illegal acts. However, knowing what we know today, would it not be possible for us to find it in our hearts to forgive and honour those valuable members of our society.
Why cannot Canada at long last recognize these people's courage. Other nations have embraced their Spanish war veterans. France has given them veteran's status and has given them dignity, respect and a place of honour among its citizens.
After 60 years, the Spanish government invited the civil war veterans over and granted them honourary Spanish citizenship.
Here in Canada in the province of Ontario, after many years of government inaction, the veterans of the MacKenzie-Papineau battalion were finally honoured in 1995 with a Canadian monument. On the lawns behind the Ontario legislature at Queen's Park lies a plaque affixed to a stone from the battlefields of Gandesa in Spain.
During the unveiling ceremony on June 4, 1995, the consul general of Spain spoke eloquently of adolescents braving the world to stand on the side of the poor. He spoke of courage and innocence.
Would it not be possible for members of the House to speak that same language and come together in acknowledging the courage and innocence of the men and women of the MacKenzie-Papineau battalion?
I know that the Hon. Minister of Veterans Affairs does not support the request made by the Mac-Paps. Neither does the Royal Canadian Legion. The Legion is a national treasure with more than 500,000 members. I had the honour to meet these men and women on several occasions at the Legion's branch in my riding of Laval West. They all know how much respect and admiration I have for them, because we talk about it often whenever we meet.
Recently, the Canadian Legion made the following statement about Canada “We believe in a united Canada, where all Canadians are equal before the law and where the rights and freedoms of every Canadian are nurtured and safeguarded”.
I wholeheartedly agree with this important statement. Respecting the law is fundamental in any democracy but in a democracy we also have the right to question, criticize and re-evaluate our laws.
Canadian law is dynamic and must always reflect what Canadian society thinks. I understand their views, but I would have expected more generosity from men and women who, although they did not fight with the Mac-Paps, did fight for the ideals we all share.