Mr. Speaker, I can tell from hon. members opposite that they regret a great deal that we have to part from the plane of emotion we are on. Allow me to offer some personal comments on this debate. I would like to make three points with members of the House.
I think the proposition to cut the budget of the Governor General is unwise, I think it is unjustified and I think it is misdirected. It is first and foremost an attack on the institution of the Governor General and as such it is unwise. It is also a personal attack, as we have heard in the House tonight, on the present Governor General and as such it is unjustified. It will punish Canadians who otherwise would benefit from the programs that will have to be cancelled and as a result it is misdirected.
We rarely reflect on the role of the Crown in Canada and its importance to our Constitution and democracy. It is ironic, I suggest to colleagues, that we are called upon to do so in this debate.
Personally I consider the Governor General a uniquely Canadian institution, which, with Parliament and the judiciary, I consider to be a pillar of our democratic and constitutional system. We should not attack it lightly. Its roots are our roots, going back not just to British colonial times but even to Samuel de Champlain.
Since our first Canadian Governor General, Vincent Massey, it has evolved under the leadership of great men and women like General Vanier, who was a World War I and World War II hero, Roland Michener, a great parliamentarian and a Conservative, I remind my colleagues, Ed Schreyer, who represented the west, and others.
I believe that this institution is important to us. It is the symbol of what we are as a nation and it serves to differentiate us in important ways from our culturally powerful neighbour to the south and thus to craft our unique Canadian identity.
Its present incumbent--and here is where I say this is a personal attack--incarnates, in my view, the modern Canadian experience, as the member for Gatineau so well expressed tonight: integrating newcomers. The present incumbent came here as a refugee from China. She came here as a refugee during the war in Hong Kong, and I am proud when I go to Asia representing our country to be able to say we are one of the rare institutions in the world that has chosen as our head of state someone who is an immigrant and has come to our shores as a refugee. We should be proud of that.
She made her way to the top of what Canada is about by personal qualities, by drive, determination and professionalism. She takes her role personally and seriously. She works hard and has brought increased respect to the institution. We are lucky to have her husband, an internationally recognized author and scholar, who brings his contribution to our national life.
I would like to tell the House tonight about my experience as its defence minister.
The Governor General is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces. As such, she plays a significant role, by recognizing the contribution of our military and by providing a great deal of moral support to our troops in active service.
The Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada provides support to the Canadian Forces by playing a ceremonial and symbolic role. She encourages excellence and dedication from our forces. She visits our military bases throughout Canada. She attends the funerals of soldiers who have fallen in combat. She welcomes our troops upon their return home and upholds the morale of those who serve to maintain peace and security around the world.
The Governor General, as commander in chief, has travelled extensively to visit Canadian troops throughout her mandate, ensuring an unprecedented presence on behalf of all Canadians.
Let the record show that the members opposite are making a mockery of this statement.
Let the members opposite speak to our troops and ask them what they think about the Governor General when she visited them in Kosovo in 2002, in Bosnia in 2001, spending her Christmas aboard our naval ships in the gulf in 2002, and in Kabul, Afghanistan, for New Year's in 2003. No doubt the opposition would like to cut her trip to Kabul this year.
This is an attack on the Governor General. This is an attack on the commander in chief of our forces, who is very much appreciated by our troops. It is an attack on the ability of our troops to be able to benefit from the presence of our Governor General.
I totally agree with her. She has comforted the wounded around the world and the families of deceased soldiers killed in active duty and I have been there to see it. She has paid tribute on countless occasions to our veterans and those who have died in defence of Canada, Canadian values and freedom and justice.
I was proud the other day to attend an awards ceremony of medals at Rideau Hall. I saw the Governor General personally comforting widows of those who had served for our country, people who had died.
I ask the opposition to ask those widows, ask those members of our forces who received decorations from the Governor General. They appreciate it. They appreciate her service. They appreciated her when she went to Juno Beach, when she attended in June 2004 for D-day. They appreciated it when she returned subsequently on their behalf to Italy to celebrate the sacrifices they had made.
Since the hon. members do not wish to accept my words, let them listen to the words of Cliff Chatterton, who has not necessarily been a great friend of the government, but he is a prominent advocate for Canada's veterans. He said of the current Governor General that:
She takes her role as commander in chief of the armed forces very seriously. I have been dealing with governors-general going back to 1945 and in my estimation she is the first one who has decided that is a real role.
That is the role that the troops of our country have for her. All I ask of the opposition is to ask our troops. I have asked them and they stand behind their Governor General and their commander in chief.
A lot of the origins of this motion result from trips that the Governor General has organized on behalf of Canada. Let us recognize that the Governor General, when she travels on state visits at the formal request of the Government of Canada through the Prime Minister and on the advice of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, is acting on behalf of Canadians.
I had the privilege, as did some members of the opposition some time ago, when I was chair of the foreign affairs committee, to go with her on a trip to Argentina. With her she took a general. She took aboriginal leaders. She took politicians. She took cultural and university leaders and she took representatives of industry.
This unprecedented team Canada approach at diplomacy has been an unqualified success for Canada. It has given us a new image of ourselves. She has adopted that approach on other trips, garnering enormous attention for Canada. In the media of foreign countries and countries she visits, that attention is of direct benefit to us and our profile and our commercial prospects in those countries.
These cuts will not punish the Governor General. They will punish Canadians, ordinary Canadians who look forward to participating in activities that will now have to be cancelled, and whereby their contributions to their country will not be able to be recognized. That is the object of this resolution.
