Mr. Speaker, I have both a question and a comment on the speech of the hon. member for Saint John.
Sometimes I think Canadian citizens and members of the House forget the lesson that was taught to all of us by World War II. Quite simply, we were taught in the history books that this war was fought on European soil and in European waters, in Asian waters and in Japanese waters when as a matter of fact much of that war was fought in our waters.
During World War II we captured prisoners of war. We captured German spies in Halifax with theatre tickets in their pockets. They knew what boats were going out in convoy. There was a submarine net across Halifax harbour which had to be raised in order for our troops, soldiers and supplies to get to Europe.
A comment I remember well was from my father who was a veteran of World War II. He never saw action. He was a military policeman stationed in St. John's, Newfoundland. There were dozens and dozens of dead merchant marine sailors floating in the waters from torpedoed ships off Newfoundland, in Canadian water, black with coal oil. This was the very essence of war and the part of war none of us wants to think about.
I ask the hon. member, is that a lesson which we should all remember, that the war was not fought all on European soil and in European water, that the war started on our doorstep when we had a 12 mile limit in Canadian waters?