Military’s aid in COVID-19 fight noted as pandemic restricts Remembrance Day events
A modest crowd gathered in downtown Ottawa to witness a solemn Remembrance Day ceremony at the National War Memorial, instead of the tens of thousands who normally show up.
Many of the wreaths were already positioned around the cenotaph, one way to keep the number of people down as the country grapples with the deadly second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“On this day when so much has changed since the last time we gathered, may we be comforted by the words from Her Majesty the Queen to Canadians in the context of this pandemic,” Maj.-Gen. Guy Chapdelaine, a Roman Catholic priest who is chaplain general of the Canadian Armed Forces, said Wednesday.
“Hope is to be found in the care given to the vulnerable and to those in need,” he said, repeating the message twice.
Canadians were encouraged to stay home while they mark the service and sacrifice of those who have given their lives to defend the country, as the solemnity of Remembrance Day is butting up against the threat posed by the second wave of COVID-19.
The Royal Canadian
Legion explicitly discouraged Canadians from attending Remembrance Day ceremonies in person this year and instead asked people to watch on TV or online.
Chris Turenne was part of the small crowd that still showed up to watch the ceremony from behind the barriers in downtown Ottawa, under a gloomy sky.
He said people should be responsible and respect COVID-19 rules but the ceremony should have happened as normal.
“There’s been other protests and rallies, and they seemed to be fine,” he said. “I don’t know why this should be any different.”
As promised by the legion, there were many of the traditional elements of the ceremonies, such as the playing of the Last Post, the singing of In Flanders Fields. A planned flyby of military aircraft over downtown Ottawa was cancelled due to the weather.
There was also emphasis on the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, after many commemorations planned for earlier this year in Europe and elsewhere were cancelled.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, were among the dignitaries at the National War Memorial, along with Gov. Gen. Julie Payette and Debbie
Sullivan, this year’s Silver Cross Mother.
Sullivan’s son, Chris Saunders, was a naval officer who was killed after a fire broke out on HMCS Chicoutimi, a submarine that was on its way to Canada in October 2004.
They all wore masks and laid wreaths as part of the ceremony.
Replacing the usual chorus of voices were three members of the Ottawa Children’s Choir. One sang a solo rendition of the national anthem ahead of the two minutes of silence introduced by a bugle.
Many other legion branches across the country also prepared stripped-down ceremonies. Private events were planned by long-term care facilities that are home to some of Canada’s oldest surviving veterans, at particularly high risk from COVID-19.
On Tuesday, Trudeau encouraged Canadians to mark Remembrance Day despite COVID-19.
“Even though we can’t gather as we usually do, we can always show our support for our veterans by wearing a poppy and watching the ceremonies online on Remembrance Day,” he said in French.
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole echoed the sentiment in a statement Wednesday morning.
“”Reflection, remembrance, and respect – these are not actions that can only happen during parades or at cenotaphs. They are emotional acts we will uphold during a year when Canadians have dedicated themselves to adapting and persevering through these challenging times,“he said.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and a small group of dignitaries and members of the military attended a service at Queen’s Park in Toronto.
“We face a new enemy in COVID-19,” he said.
The service paid tribute to the sacrifice of all veterans but also featured the unveiling of a new memorial to those who served in Afghanistan. It included a stone from an Inukshuk dedicated to the fallen that was erected by Canadian soldiers at Kandahar Airfield.