Elsie Wayne

[Buckingham Palace, March 18th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, for 40 years Canada has shared with Australia and New Zealand in seconding a public servant to serve in Her Royal Majesty's press office at Buckingham Palace.

Is the Prime Minister today denouncing Canada's ties with the monarchy? Will he reconsider his position and second a public servant to continue this important longstanding commitment to the Queen?

[Buckingham Palace, March 18th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, for 40 years Canada has shared with Australia and New Zealand in seconding a public servant to serve in Her Royal Majesty's press office at Buckingham Palace.

It is once again Canada's turn. However, the Prime Minister has unilaterally refused to send a representative. I was told today by the London press that the PMO's press officer said they knew nothing about the monarchy or any ties.

My question is for the Prime Minister. Is he denouncing Canada's ties with the monarchy? Will he reconsider his position and second a public servant to continue this important longstanding tradition?

[Supply, March 17th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The hon. member for York South—Weston referred to the fact that there was a poll—

[Supply, March 17th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I have not been here as long as the hon. member and I have a great deal of respect for him. But we have to start building bridges in Canada. In the past two weeks we have put a whole lot of cracks in the foundation.

The hon. member referred to the Olympics. This is not the Olympics. We are not in here with a soccer ball. We are not in here for basketball. We have two Canadian flags here for which all of us have respect. We have really hurt Canada in the past two weeks.

When I looked up to the gallery that day I saw the shock on all the faces. People in the gallery could not believe this was happening.

I represent Canada's first incorporated city by royal charter which dates back to 1783. A flag cannot be placed in the council chambers other than the flag placed beside the Speaker. The flag is placed beside her worship. No other flags are allowed on the desks. Nothing else is allowed in the council chambers, the same as the House. We follow the rules laid down by the British Parliament. My colleagues ran on a platform to bring decorum to the House of Commons and they have ruined it.

[Supply, March 17th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, what I have to say cannot be said in 60 seconds. Is there another speaker today?

I have to say that I have been in this House of Commons for the last five years and I have never been so embarrassed as I have been in the last few weeks. It is a sad situation, it truly is, that we take the decorum and the protocol out of this House of Commons as has been done in the last two weeks.

A school teacher in a history class will not allow the children to interrupt at any time. There has to be control by the teacher. And there must be control by the Speaker in the Speaker's chair. I know you are going to stand up and say “I have got the control”.

[Pensions, March 17th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the proposed seniors benefit plan would claw back benefits by 20% on those with a family income of $26,000. This added together with the existing tax rates would mean a tax rate for middle income seniors of 70%. This would kill any incentive to save for retirement. They would not even be able to buy green for St. Paddy's Day.

Canadians are worried that their savings will be taken from them. What is the finance minister prepared to do today?

[Pensions, March 17th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister had an opportunity during his budget speech to tell Canadians that he has heard their concerns regarding the proposed seniors benefit plan, but he blew it, for he was silent.

Why does the finance minister continue to push ahead with his idea of clawing back Canadians' retirement savings by 70%?

[Observance Of Two Minutes Of Silence On Remembrance Day Act, March 12th, 1998]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak to Bill C-279 which promotes the observance of two minutes of silence on Remembrance Day.

The bill is something which is not compelling on Canadians but it does seek to invite us to pause voluntarily for two minutes to remember those who fought so valiantly for the freedom we enjoy today. I commend my colleague from Calgary Southeast for bringing forward this initiative.

I had the opportunity to travel with the Minister of Veterans Affairs as part of a delegation to Dieppe, France last year. Veterans from across Canada were with us.

I had two brothers who were overseas and fought in the war. I had absolutely no idea what they had gone through until we came into the harbour of Dieppe, France. It was just like walls of cement that were almost as high as these walls here in the House. That was where the Germans were because they knew our troops were coming and as they got off the ships and approached the shore, the Germans picked them off one by one.

The people in Dieppe, France never forgot the sacrifices our people made. We had an opportunity to visit the French cemetery in Dieppe, France. It was the only night when there was any kind of mist and fog and it was going in and around the tombstones. All of a sudden this little lady arrived. It was almost as if she had come up from the grave. We all stood very stunned. She was Sister Valois.

An hon. member from the Liberal Party and I were helping some of the veterans. Some of them had to use wheelchairs after a few days because of the heat. I was pushing one of the wheelchairs when all of a sudden the gentleman said “It's Sister Valois, it's Sister Valois”. Then they all joined in.

She was a nun, a nurse. When our boys arrived in Dieppe and when they were hurt, she was the one who took care of them. Five of our men who were there fighting during the war died in her arms. Our men had great respect for her and it was really an honour and a privilege to meet her.

At our Canadian cemetery we also had a huge service. All the young people, like the pages here, and even little ones smaller than them and others bigger than them, came over to us. We had Canada pins on. They would say “Please, please” and point to the pins. When we gave them our lapel pins, they said “Merci, merci” and hugged us. It meant so much to them. All down the promenade, from the top of every building and the windows there were Canadian flags. It was absolutely marvellous to see.

I have great respect for our veterans and I am sure most people do. Remembrance of the 114,000 Canadians who gave their lives to fight for the rights and freedoms of our citizens and the 1.6 million who volunteered with them has become a very strong Canadian tradition. It has been encouraged by the veterans who steadfastly have performed and supported remembrance activities.

We mark Remembrance Day on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. It is the anniversary of the hour when guns fell silent in the year 1918, marking the end of World War I. Since then our veterans have faced World War II and the Korean war, and our peacekeepers have found themselves thrown into war zones where Canada is not a combatant.

On October 10, 1997 a private member's bill introduced in the Ontario legislature by Progressive Conservative MPP Morley Kells received royal assent. The bill is almost identical to the bill we are debating here tonight. Mr. Kells introduced his bill after he spent Remembrance Day in England one year.

Recently Great Britain restored the two minutes of silence to its Remembrance Day ceremonies. The two minutes of silence was once commonplace in England but had fallen into disuse. Mr. Kells witnessed the reinstitution of the two minutes of silence in England. He was so moved by the ceremony that he decided to introduce a bill in the Ontario legislature. The bill was passed. It calls on Ontarians to pause voluntarily for two minutes on Remembrance Day each year. I know of no one in this House of Commons who should be negative against our doing exactly the same here in Ottawa. It should be done here for our veterans right on Parliament Hill.

As time marches on our veterans are becoming less and less visible at Remembrance Day ceremonies across the country because of age, because of health, because of death. I as well as others are concerned that their legacy will fade.

I compliment the Royal Canadian Legion that goes into the schools to remind the children of November 11, Remembrance Day. The legion reminds the children of what it really means.

I was told that the Royal Canadian Legion asked the children of a little town to make wreathes and lay them down. The children did this. I was told that meant more to the veterans than if they had bought a wreath. The veterans saw that the children understood and cared enough for the veterans.

We must remember if it were not for our veterans, we would not be sitting here today in this Chamber. We would not be freely debating issues of policy and importance to our nation. It is up to our present generation and governments to take steps today to ensure our veterans' fight for our freedom is never forgotten. We must fuel the flame or the torch will never be passed on.

Fortunately recent generations have never been called upon to volunteer for the massive war efforts Canada mounted in World War I and World War II. We must continue to commemorate our veterans' legacy. Two minutes of silence is a small step toward ensuring the memory of their valiant fight.

The Royal Canadian Legion has called on governments and Canadians to restore this two minutes of silence nationwide. It believes it will go a long way to enhance Remembrance Day among the new generation of Canadians, those who have not experienced the horror of war.

We have already seen the Department of Veterans Affairs support this initiative for which I thank it. It has published brochures outlining activities for schools during Veterans Week and suggesting that two minutes of silence be organized. I commend the DVA for this initiative.

Two years ago the present president of the Royal Canadian Legion, Mr. Joe Kobolak, wrote to the Globe and Mail on the subject of the two minutes of silence. I quote from his letter to the editor dated November 15:

There is nothing quite as expressive as silence. Britain discovered that on Monday when it stood still for two minutes to remember the war dead. Trains, buses and cars came to a stop. Children stood by their desks with heads bowed. Office workers took their phones off the hook. The floor of the stock exchange fell silent. TV networks turned off the sound.

In a hurry-up world that leaves little for contemplation, it was a magnificent gesture of national solidarity. Is there any reason that Canada should not follow the example? Canadians observe Remembrance Day in many ways—in schools, at Legion halls, on Parliament Hill. But remembering together, at the same moment, all across the country would lend the event a new force at a time when memories of war are fading. Let the Prime Minister declare that, beginning next year, Canadians from sea to sea shall observe two minutes of silence at the same time every November 11th. We owe it to the dead. We owe it to the yet unborn.

I agree with the president of the Royal Canadian Legion. I agree with the thrust of Mr. Kells' bill. I agree with my colleague's bill before us tonight. Simply put, the legislation is an act to provide for the observance of Remembrance Day in a way that it was initially meant to be. Two minutes is not a lot to ask for a lifetime of freedom.

[Hepatitis C, March 11th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, Justice Krever stated in his report “compensating some needy sufferers and not others cannot in my opinion be justified”. This is exactly what the victims are saying. These are people who are suffering through no fault of their own and people are dying.

The government appointed Justice Krever and now it does not want to listen to him? Where is the leadership on the other side? Will the minister treat all victims equally, in the same manner, the way Justice Krever suggests?

[Hepatitis C, March 11th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, thousands of Canadians are suffering from hepatitis C which they contracted through no fault of their own.

Yesterday victims who contracted the disease before 1986 and after 1990 filed a class action lawsuit. This issue is about people who have been suffering since the early 1980s and have waited long enough.

When will the Minister of Health start to show some compassion and treat all these victims equally? A lengthy and costly court case is not in any party's interest.