Vaughan Legion moves to invite-only Remembrance Day service

Last year about 500 people marked the day at the Cenotaph but this year the limit is only about 25 attendees

Yorkregion.com
Nov. 6, 2020
Dina Al-Shibeeb

Remembrance Day events will be much different this year during the COVID-19 pandemic, but York Region and South Simcoe legions are finding ways even within modified Stage 2 restrictions to honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms.

Last year, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 414 in Vaughan saw nearly 500 people commemorate Remembrance Day.

With COVID-19’s shock waves bringing the world to a standstill and mandating face masks and physical distancing, the Remembrance Day occurring 75 years after the end of the Second World War is drastically different this year.

“We have to keep it down below 25 people,” said Dianne Scaturchio, the Vaughan branch’s secretary.

“Last year, we had the Remembrance Day up at the Cenotaph,” said Scaturchio. “It was attended by almost 500 people but this year, we are sadly restricted to 25 people outside (the Legion).”

“We can't have everybody at the branch because we're closed because of COVID.”

For those who want to commemorate the service and weren’t invited, Scaturchio advised them to “stay in their cars.”

With many businesses being closed or not accepting the poppies, the Vaughan branch has distributed almost all of the 30,000 poppies they have ordered so far as of Nov. 2.

The total number of the poppies ordered this year is down by half in comparison to last year.

On Nov. 2, the City of Vaughan also invited citizens to join Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua and councillors for a virtual Remembrance Day.

In addition, Vaughan citizens can pay tribute to veterans and soldiers by sharing personal thoughts of gratitude and remembrance on the City’s virtual Poppy Wall. Digital messages will be collected until Wednesday, Nov. 11, and then featured in an online display.

It isn’t only Vaughan.

Crystal Cook, who is the district commander for an area of Royal Canadian Legion branches that includes Newmarket, Aurora, Richmond Hill, Stouffville, Sutton, Mount Albert and Bradford, said Remembrance Day parades to local cenotaphs have been cancelled.

Many legions are holding invitation-only services restricted to no more than 25 people, which will be livestreamed through social media.

Residents should check with their local legion for details on services in their communities, Cook said.

Meanwhile, this year’s poppy campaign is not as visible as in past years because only a handful of people are selling them in selection locations in different communities.

Instead, donation boxes are in stores but with restaurants and other businesses closed during pandemic restrictions, there are fewer of those as well.

Cook is pleading with the public to support this year’s poppy campaign, the largest annual fundraiser for veterans and their families.

“Not being able to do a lot of our traditional ways of getting those donations, my fear is that the donations are going to be down,” she said.

“We’re just hoping that the public will be a little bit more generous this year. They’ve always been generous but we’re really counting on the communities to come and support us because this is our main way of supporting our veterans for the year.”

While income from poppy campaigns can fluctuate from year to year, Cook said as much as $400,000 a year is normally raised in York Region.

“We help the veterans to pay for things that they are unable to. We purchase them wheelchairs and walkers and hearing aids and dentures and a variety of things,” she said.

“We’ve helped a veteran pay a hydro bill because they just didn’t have the funds to do so.”

This year’s muted observance of Remembrance Day is difficult on veterans and legion members but Cook said she’s optimistic communities will rally around them.

“It’s very hard because this is the time of year that is extremely special for them. To not be able to be there is very difficult for them,” she said.

“We keep telling them we’ll be back next year bigger and better than ever.”