Veterans Affairs committee  I felt that I wasn't just getting a gift from Canada. The country was recognizing my military service and was expressing its gratitude to me for participating in certain combat missions, certain engagements to preserve the freedom of Canadians. I respect my medals so much that I

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, basically. The medals were given to me without any restrictions.

Veterans Affairs committee  But we are suggesting that you can amend the Cultural Property Export and Import Act and achieve the same objective.

Veterans Affairs committee  The bill doesn't say “no person shall sell an insignia”. The bill says “no person shall transfer an insignia”. What if I decide I want to transfer my medals to the U.K. Imperial War Museum? I don't want to sell them; I just want to transfer them. Why is it that I have to offer th

Veterans Affairs committee  And also, you should be fair in continuing to read clause 3. It says the option that can be exercised is that you have to make an offer to the Canadian War Museum, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, or the Department of Canadian Heritage. These are the only three organizations

Veterans Affairs committee  You can do whatever you want. That's correct.

Veterans Affairs committee  That's what the bill says.

Veterans Affairs committee  I'm not necessarily convinced that collectors think this is currency. I think collectors also recognize the historical significance of awards. I think it's wrong to attribute to them that they see this solely as currency. I also see that they do something significant, in that, fo

Veterans Affairs committee  I can't answer that question. It's not answerable. Are museums happy with the context under which they operate?

Veterans Affairs committee  It is my understanding that the Cultural Property Export and Import Act contains regulations under which cultural property must be 50 years old or over, and that there is a sort of a 90-day waiting period during which an attempt is made to find people who would be prepared to buy

Veterans Affairs committee  I think the solution would be to amend the Cultural Property Export and Import Act.

Veterans Affairs committee  There are certainly limits, but you haven't even determined any in this bill. You state the following: The Governor in Council may make regulations (a) identifying insignia of cultural significance [...] You did not define the notion of “cultural significance.”

Veterans Affairs committee  The bill failed to do so.

Veterans Affairs committee  I even think that we sent a copy of our comments to the clerk—perhaps not this clerk, but the last one.

Veterans Affairs committee  I'm having some fundamental problems. If you pass a law that's not enforceable, the law doesn't mean very much. Yet within this proposed law, you're saying here in clause 4 that every person who contravenes this law is “liable to a fine in an amount that does not exceed five time