Veterans Affairs committee  The wording that is proposed in this amendment addresses the concern we had raised in respect of the different language between the bill, as it had been presented, and the language of the Cultural Property Export and Import Act. The transaction “fair cash offer” is the transactio

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes.

Veterans Affairs committee  May I?

Veterans Affairs committee  The issue we raised in our presentation was that right now the Cultural Property Export and Import Act covers medals that are 50 years old and older.

Veterans Affairs committee  Some of the medals covered under this bill will soon be 50 years old, and at that point you will have to ask whether they fall under the new law that will be passed as a result of this bill or under the cultural property act. The proposed amendment here would assure that the mode

Veterans Affairs committee  To my knowledge, since this act came into force, in 1977, there have been no prosecutions involving medals.

Veterans Affairs committee  There was one, 10 or 15 years ago, relating to an illegal export, but the medal was repatriated from the country in question.

Veterans Affairs committee  Most of the medals currently circulating on eBay or elsewhere date from the First World War or the Second World War.

Veterans Affairs committee  It isn't necessarily the person who received the medal who is selling it. It may be a family member, a third-generation descendant, someone who does not have a sense of belonging.

Veterans Affairs committee  At present, most medals don't have a value of more than $3,000; their value is ordinarily lower than that.

Veterans Affairs committee  The transaction and consideration that are described in Bill C-473 match the term used in the Cultural Property Export and Import Act, determining a fair cash offer. The term “fair market value” is used in an entirely different context in the Cultural Property Export and Import A

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes.

Veterans Affairs committee  You're right. In protecting our heritage, we try to strike a balance between the public interest and the rights inherent in personal property. That is the reasoning on which the present legislation is based. For medals of great significance, like the Victoria Cross, to my knowle

Veterans Affairs committee  Under the Cultural Property Export and Import Act it is the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board that is responsible for that determination.

Veterans Affairs committee  If I may, Mr. Chair, I would like to answer that question. The purpose behind the Cultural Property Export and Import Act is really to keep our heritage in Canada. Exporting objects of value is allowed, but for certain things considered to be of national importance, there is a p