Remembrance Day, a national day of remembrance and mourning, was first observed in 1919 throughout the British Commonwealth as a way to honour the more then 60,000 Canadians who died in World War I for the service to their country.
That first year it was called Armistice Day and it was observed on November 11, the day hostilities ceased in WWI, however, two years later the date was changed to the second Monday in November, creating a single long weekend linked to Thanksgiving, in large part due to pressure from the business community. The business community argued that having a set day that would fall on a different day, usually in the middle of the week, would cause to much disruption to business.
The new Armistice Day proved to be unpopular with veterans and the public alike and in 1931, on a motion by two B.C. MP’s, A.W. Neil and C.W. Dickie introduced two separate motions in the House of Commons to change the Armistice Day to Remembrance Day to November 11, finally giving veterans a day of their own.
At least in six provinces and three territories. Believe it or not, in 2014, Remembrance Day is still not a statutory holiday in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.
Yet, these provinces have other days they deem important enough to be official holidays. For example, in Ontario, Boxing Day is a statutory holiday, but Remembrance Day is not.
It seems after all this time veterans are still not getting the respect they most richly deserve. What should be more important to the citizens of Ontario? If, for whatever reason, the provincial government is concerned with the number of statutory holidays, shouldn’t Remembrance Day rank higher than Boxing Day?
The truth is just having one day to honour the men and women of our Armed Forces, who have or continue to serve, on behalf of our nation is not enough.
Last week in the Leader, Lyle Saumer, a Canadian Armed Forces Veteran who served with the Princess Patricia Light Infantry including two peace keeping tours in Cyprus, told Jaime Fisher’s Barrhead Elementary School Grade 5 class that Remembrance Day should be everyday.
“They (veterans and current Canadian Armed Forces members) should be honoured everyday. Always be thankful for those who are and have been in the service,” Saumer said.
One way, he said, people can show their respect on an ongoing basis, is when anytime someone sees a Canadian soldier, past or present to go up and shake their hand and thank them for their service to the country, adding that the public can never fully appreciate how much that means to the people who are in the armed forces.
Here at the Leader we agree, thank you all for your service to a grateful nation and community. Lest We Forget.
