Smaller Remembrance Day ceremony to be held in Regina’s Victoria Park

This Remembrance Day should have been a special one, with 2020 being the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

But due to COVID-19, the Royal Canadian Legion will be holding a much smaller ceremony in Regina’s Victoria Park on Wednesday.

Ron Hitchcock, the president of the Legion’s Regina branch, said there will be a cordoned area around the cenotaph with attendance capped at about 30 people. There will only be 150 people permitted at the park.

As well, there won’t be a service held at the Brandt Centre due to COVID-related restrictions on indoor gatherings.

Hitchcock told the Greg Morgan Morning Show on Tuesday that he will be thinking about his father, who was part of the generation to serve in the Second World War.

“I’ll be thinking about the choices I have that I make every day because of the freedom that we received through the sacrifice of many in the past,” he said.

However, he will also be thinking about young people defending Canada’s freedoms today.

“There’s still young men and women that are doing the same thing and they have been neglected, and they need to be looked after,” Hitchcock said.

He believes those soldiers have been overlooked and takes responsibility for it.

“The Legion has not done its part to help these young veterans because (Legion officials) have been living in the past and that’s a problem that our branch is working on fixing,” Hitchcock said.

Part of correcting that, he said, involves doing a better job remembering sacrifices made in the present.

“Let’s show a young 28-year-old veteran from Afghanistan that lost a leg (and) has some issues with mental health and (is) seeking help (that we care),” he said. “That’s what we need to be doing.”

With the ongoing pandemic, Hitchcock is expecting fewer donations from the annual poppy campaign. He surmises that because so many people are working from home, they are visiting fewer locations where poppies are sold.

He’s encouraging people to visit the Legion’s website to donate.

“That’s the best way to help. All of that money stays within Saskatchewan,” he said. “We help our veterans in Regina first and when needed, we reach out to other Legions in the province and we have done that in the past many times.”

Veterans groups to get support from provincial gov’t

In a media release Tuesday, the provincial government confirmed it will follow through on a promise from the election campaign.

Saskatchewan will be increasing its funding commitment to the Veteran Service Club Support Program from $100,000 to $1.5 million in the 2021-22 fiscal year.

“For the past two years, this program has been extremely well-received and has demonstrated the importance of the support these veteran service clubs provide to veterans and to their communities is more vital than ever now,” Premier Scott Moe said in the release.

“A significant boost in funding to this program is just one small way that our government can demonstrate our gratitude for the sacrifices that veterans throughout Saskatchewan have made for the freedoms we enjoy today.”

In 2020, 25 registered organizations in Saskatchewan received funding. According to the government, the average grant was $3,889.