Mr. Speaker, in my parliamentary capacity as official opposition critic for veterans affairs, I am pleased to rise today to contribute to the debate on Bill C-334, an act to amend the criminal code, wearing of war decorations, sponsored by the hon. member for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast.
War medals in Canada represent a long and proud tradition of service to our country. Shortly after Confederation, Canadians, both French and English, joined to halt the Fenian raiders and the Red River insurrection.
In 1870, to commemorate this service, Canada's first medal was struck. It was emblazoned with ribbon striped in red, white and red, appropriately the colours of Canada's present flag. The maple leaf, long the symbol for Canada and carved in the walls of the trenches at Vimy Ridge, borders the medal. This medal, and now our flag, are proud reminders of Canada's first war veterans' successful efforts at keeping Canada whole and defending our freedoms from insurrection and foreign invasion.
It is presently a criminal code offence for anyone, other than the holder of war medals, to wear them. Under Bill C-334 it is proposed that section 419 of the criminal code be amended by adding a section permitting a relative of a deceased veteran to wear on Remembrance Day any medal that has been awarded to that deceased veteran. To clearly indicate that the medals were not awarded to the relative, such persons are to wear them on the right side of the chest rather than the left side, as is customary among actual veterans. To avoid confusion, relatives who are in the Canadian military and in uniform are not permitted to wear the deceased veteran's medals.
The current prohibition against relatives wearing the medals of veterans is comparatively unique among commonwealth countries. Great Britain apparently has no law governing the issue. This does not mean there is an endorsed practice concerning the wearing of military honours by family members. It simply means that in Great Britain the issue has been largely left to the public's best judgment.
In Australia legislation provides that a family member of a deceased veteran may wear a service decoration if the family member does not represent himself as being the war veteran.
In the United States, by contrast, the practice is specifically prohibited as it is in Canada. In the United States a medal may be pinned on the next of kin of a deceased veteran, but such pinning does not entitle the next of kin to wear the medal publicly. It remains the property and the honour of the deceased alone.
It is noteworthy that the prohibition of the wearing of medals and related honours is found in a criminal code section which addresses the unlawful use of military uniforms or certificates as well. The matter is considered to be so serious that there is a reverse onus of proof. The accused must prove that he or she had lawful authority to wear a Canadian forces uniform or medal or to be in possession of a military discharge certificate.
There are several arguments made in support of permitting relatives of Canadian war veterans to wear their war honours, at least on Remembrance Day. One of the key advocates of Bill C-334 is Christine Ballantine, a constituent of the hon. member for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast. As has been publicly reported, the issue is of particular importance to her since she never knew her father who died in the second world war when she was about eight months old.
Ms. Ballantine's father was a British airman. His war medals are in her possession. In 1994, upon visiting Normandy where her father died, Ms. Ballantine personally received an additional medal awarded to her father by the Government of France.
If Ms. Ballantine were attending Remembrance Day ceremonies in Britain she could wear her father's medals in honour of his memory without fearing that she had committed an offence. In Canada she must wear the medals concealed under her coat.
The Royal Canadian Legion appears to be of two minds with respect to the bill. The Dominion Command appears to have strong reservations while local legion representatives are more supportive.
One main argument for permitting the wearing of war medals by relatives relates to the diminishing number of war veterans. Many of the medals and related honours are now either private family mementoes or the currency of collectors. The public's association with the actual person who was honoured diminishes year by year as our veterans pass away.
Where the bill could be improved is with respect to defining the term of relative. Relative should be defined to mean the widow or widower of a deceased veteran or a parent, child, brother, sister, grandparent or grandchild, whether by blood, marriage or adoption. Such definition would appear to provide constructive limitations as to which family members could wear the medals. Nephews and nieces and others not as closely connected to the deceased veteran would not be able to honour him or her through the wearing of medals.
The definition of relative could be expanded as times change and circumstances warrant. Under the current definition, if adopted, the youngest relative who could wear the medal of a deceased veteran would be his or her grandchild.
Under the bill the wearing by relatives on Remembrance Day of any ribbon, badge, chevron, decoration or order is also permitted. In my opinion the bill should be limited in application to medals, in particular full size Canadian or commonwealth general service issue medals as opposed to miniatures.
My reason for restricting the application of the bill is based on the question of how one could wear a ribbon, badge, chevron or any decoration or order when it is specified in the bill that relatives are to wear the medals on the right side of their chest.
The term chevron refers to a badge in a V shape, sewn on the sleeve of a uniform indicating rank or length of service. Similarly such honours as the Order of Military Merit are not awarded as a medal but as a pendant to be worn around the neck. A relative wearing such an honour around the neck could not be readily distinguished from another who earned the honour.
For these reasons I suggest that the bill be limited to medals only and will propose an amendment to that effect. I therefore would encourage that Bill C-334 be amended as follows:
That subsection 2 of section 1 of Bill C-334 be amended by deleting the words “ribbon, badge, chevron or any decoration or order” contained therein.
It is a noble and worthwhile objective to permit close relatives to honour their departed veteran family members on Remembrance Day through the public display of their medals of honour. However this view is not shared by any major veterans organization.
I hope that during the committee hearings these organizations will reconsider their position. I consider myself to be obliged to respect their wishes. As they are the representatives and the voices of veterans for the vast majority of veterans and ex-service personnel in Canada, I will reflect the collective wishes of these veterans when we vote.
