Canadians Were Asked To Masquerade At Remembrance Day Ceremonies, Says Royal Canadian Legion | The Canadian News

Canadians will return to cenotaphs and monuments across much of the country on Thursday morning to remember and pay their respects to those who fought and died in the service of Canada.

This year’s Remembrance Day ceremonies will contrast with those of last year, when organizers discouraged people from attending in person due to the second wave of COVID-19.

Royal Canadian Legion spokesperson Nujma Bond hopes for a return to a semblance of normalcy, including at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, where people are invited to attend.

However, some restrictions and changes will remain in effect as COVID-19 continues to pose a threat, Bond said, with masks and physical distancing requirements for anyone planning to attend the ceremonies.

The Legion also once again canceled the traditional Ottawa veterans parade, which in the past saw veterans of World War II and Korea march alongside their counterparts from more recent conflicts and operations.

“But there will be an area for veterans who want to attend the ceremony to stand and sit near the National War Memorial,” Bond said.

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Some Legion branches across the country will also again waive in-person events due to the pandemic and instead ask people to watch their local ceremony on TV or online, he added, which is also a option for the national ceremony.

Before this year’s event, questions had been raised about whether the government would hold the flags at half-staff, as it had been doing since May in memory of the indigenous children who died attending residential schools.

But the government chose on Sunday to raise the flags back to their full height before lowering them again on Monday in honor of Indigenous Veterans Day, and they will lower them again on Thursday.

In addition to the mask and physical distancing requirements and the decision not to have a veterans parade, Bond said this year’s national ceremony will include many of the elements Canadians have come to know over the decades.

That includes a reading of the Act of Remembrance in English, French and an indigenous language, which Bond said this year will be Michif’s Metis language.