Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure to speak on Motion M-190. It was introduced on November 4, 2004 by our colleague, the hon. member for Tobique—Mactacquac, and reads as follows:
That, in the opinion of the House, the government should establish a fund to help ensure the maintenance and the preservation of war memorials in communities across Canada in honour of our war veterans.
I will make our position clear immediately. The Bloc Québécois supports this initiative, which is intended to pay tribute to our soldiers who fought for democracy and freedom. These memorials are part of our heritage and reminders of our history.
Just about everywhere in Canada, whether in my birthplace of Evain, in Abitibi, which is represented by my neighbour in this House, or whether it is in Amos, in Deux-Montagnes in my riding, in Montreal's Côte-des-Neiges Cemetery, whether it is the Croix du sacrifice in Quebec City, or whether it is in Sherbrooke or Trois-Rivières, or indeed virtually any municipality in Quebec, there is a memorial in honour of war veterans. Wherever there is a Canadian Legion, there is a memorial.
Today, we need to acknowledge and thank our municipalities and Canadian Legions, which have paid for repairing and maintaining these memorials out of their own funds. I must pay tribute to people like Claude McGuire of Amos, who wrote a letter to his MP recently. SInce I am responsible for the Veterans Affairs portfolio, I was sent a copy of the letter. In it he requested several thousand dollars for the upkeep of the Amos war memorial. Unfortunately, he could no longer afford to do it. His MP and I contacted the Minister of Veterans Affairs. I understand her situation. She had to respond by saying that there was no money and no program for this purpose.
The purpose of this motion is to remedy that situation, and I think it will help.
I must also pay tribute to some others who are in the same situation. Mrs. Côté, the president of the Granby war veterans, is one and my friend Victor Smart is another. He is the president of the Deux-Montagnes Canadian Legion and has done his utmost to maintain the two memorials in his area and to keep them in good shape. I thank the Legion members, and I thank the people in the municipalities who are fulfilling the federal government's role by maintaining these memorials.
In my opinion, the motion before me is far too vague. For instance, the amount of the fund is not specified, nor is the type of monument we should consider. Are there regulations establishing that certain monuments are a federal responsibility? Are there regulations establishing which monuments are considered federal veteran monuments? How do we determine that my colleague's monument in Amos is looked after, but the monument in my riding, in Deux-Montagnes, is not?
I think very clear rules need to be established to determine which monuments we want to keep and protect.
The monuments in Quebec were erected to pay tribute to war veterans. Again, unfortunately, they are the responsibility of the Royal Canadian Legion and the municipalities that host them. Most communities lack the resources to maintain these monuments because of the exodus to big cities and the aging veteran population.
Speaking of the aging veteran population, I want to caution all the hon. members in this House that we currently have young veterans in our society, people who went to war in Bosnia, people who are out in the street suffering from post traumatic stress. We must protect and take care of them.
In conclusion, I also want to thank my colleague from Abitibi—Témiscamingue, who I know fully supports my position.