21-11-06, 21:38
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Good news, I just received this update by email:
Quote:
Dear petition supporter:
As you requested, we are emailing to update you on an important development with regards to the petition you signed asking the Government of Canada to offer a full State Funeral to the family of the last veteran of the First World War resident in Canada.
As reported by The Globe and Mail this weekend (see news story below) a motion to offer a State Funeral to the family of the last veteran of the First World War will be considered by Parliament on Tuesday, November 21.
We believe that the motion will be debated sometime between 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, Tuesday, November 21.
You can watch the House of Commons debate the motion on Canadian Parliamentary Channel (CPAC).
Or, click on the link below to view the same on your computer.
Yours sincerely,
The Dominion Institute
www.dominion.ca/statefuneral
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NDP seeks consent for state funeral
Last WW1 vet should be honoured
BY GLORIA GALLOWAY
THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SATURDAY NOVEMBER 18
OTTAWA -- The New Democratic Party will ask Monday for all federal parties to agree to offer a state funeral to the last Canadian veteran of the First World War.
Just three of those men still are still alive, and all of them are 105 or 106 years old.
Their dwindling numbers and advancing years have created a surge of support for a Dominion Institute proposal to follow the example of Australia, which held a state funeral for the final survivor of the Battle of Gallipoli. By yesterday afternoon, more than 85,000 people had signed a petition on the institute's website asking that the Canadian government offer the family of the last veteran a similar honour.
"We are going to ask the other party leaders on Monday for unanimous consent to consider a motion to have a state funeral when the last of the World War I veterans passes away," NDP Leader Jack Layton said yesterday.
The war was "immensely significant" in Canadian history, Mr. Layton said, and a state funeral would provide "an opportunity for us to remember an entire generation that fought for our country in its early years and made enormous sacrifices."
Rudyard Griffiths, executive director of the Dominion Institute, said there is some urgency to say publicly that this is what Canada as a nation wants to do. The NDP motion would "get the ball rolling," he said.
"If we want to make this into a national, large-scale commemoration, that's going to take time and it's going to take resources," Mr. Griffiths said. "It's not something that any government can turn around in a matter of a few weeks."
But Mr. Layton will need the support of all four federal parties for the matter to be dealt with quickly. Without unanimous consent of all House leaders, it will go to the end of the queue of motions to be put to the House of Commons.
Obtaining that consent could prove problematic.
Rodger Cuzner, the Liberal critic for veterans affairs, said he believes a state funeral would be a noble gesture and he will urge his party to support the NDP proposal.
"Historians are unanimous in pointing to [the 1917 battle of] Vimy Ridge as the single military battle that allowed Canada to emerge as a true nation," Mr. Cuzner said. It's important, he said, to do what "we can do to bring us back and remind us of that."
The Bloc Québécois has also said it will support the motion.
But the Conservatives may not.
A spokesman for Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson said yesterday his department is consulting with veterans groups and other federal departments, and until the Conservatives actually see the NDP motion, they can't say whether they will back it.
The Canadian Legion, meanwhile, points out that Jack Babcock, one of the three surviving Canadian veterans, has lived in the United States since 1924 and would not be entitled to a state funeral in Canada, something Mr. Babcock says he understands.
"The Legion has asked the government for some time now to host a significant event on the passing of the last World Ward I vet," said Bob Butt, the Legion's director of communications. A state funeral would be an option for the other two, but it would have to be some other type of recognition if Mr. Babcock is the last survivor, he said.
A poll of 1,013 Canadians conducted last month for the Dominion Institute found that three out of four respondents agree with the proposal for a state funeral for the last First World War veteran. While support varied across the country, in no region was it below 69 per cent.
Mr. Layton said he has been persuaded by the arguments for the ceremony and he says he has seen the groundswell of support for the idea.
"I think the significance of that particular passing is one that really represents something fundamental in our history and a great gift that was given to all of us who never had to experience the horrors that they had to experience in those trenches and in those famous battles," Mr. Layton said.
Web citation:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...=state+funeral
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