For the second year in a row, Remembrance Day ceremonies on Nov. 11 will be scaled down under public gathering restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bill McLean, president of Legion Branch 140, told Coast Reporter that no Remembrance Day parade is scheduled for Sechelt. He said that there are plans for a small ceremony at the cenotaph outside the Legion on Wharf Avenue at 11 a.m.
Planning is underway to livestream that event on the Legion’s Facebook page as well as to broadcast it via Eastlink Community TV. Rather than attending in person, McLean is encouraging the public to remotely view that event or one of the other national or regional ceremonies that will be available to watch. He also reminds all that observing two minutes of silence as part of these ceremonies is an important way to show respect and remembrance for those who have and those who continue to serve our country.
The Branch plans to be open on Nov. 11 but at a reduced capacity and with COVID-19 protocols in place.
McLean said that the Legion’s 2021 poppy campaign began on Oct. 29. Those signs of remembrance will continue to be available throughout Coast communities until Remembrance Day.
Donations collected in the poppy fund directly support veterans and serving military members as well as their families. McLean said that funds raised by the Sechelt Branch go to local meals-on-wheels programs, the area’s cadet groups, bursaries made available to Chatelech Secondary School students from military service families, and the Sunshine Coast Healthcare Auxiliary’s equipment loan cupboard at Sechelt Hospital. He said that branches have latitude to use funds locally as long as “there is a nexus with veterans.”
“Our Branch also spends a few thousand dollars per year supporting the Veterans Transition Program out of the BC Institute of Technology. That is basically to help train folks who are leaving the military with wider employment skills,” said McLean.
Another cause the branch supports is the post-traumatic stress disorder service dog program. The initiative trains and provides support and service dogs for veterans impacted by the disorder, with a focus on meeting the needs of those who recently served in Afghanistan.
According to Legion.ca, 2021 is the 100th anniversary of the poppy, which was introduced as a way to raise money for veterans’ needs and to remember those who had given their lives during the First World War. Canada’s Great War Veterans Association, which eventually formed part of the Canadian Legion, adopted the poppy as the flower of Remembrance in July 1921.
