For the first time in 15 years, there will not be a Remembrance Day ceremony at TD Station in Saint John.
Organizers have been forced to cancel the annual remembrance service due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bernard Cormier said they soon realized they would not be able to have choirs, bands or marching units as they usually do.
“Then there’s the whole aspect of how do we control 6,000 or 7,000 people packing into the arena. It just wasn’t worth going ahead and having an indoor ceremony as we have in the past,” said Cormier, who chairs the Saint John Remembrance Day Committee.
Instead, organizers have decided to hold a scaled-down Remembrance Day service at the cenotaph in King’s Square uptown.
Wreaths will be pre-placed on the cenotaph to reduce the number of people handling them. Even though there will not be choirs, bands or marching units, organizers still hope to have a trumpeter and a piper.
This year’s ceremony will be restricted to about 50 people, including wreath layers and a few military representatives.
“We would encourage the public not to come out to the service but we’re looking at how we can livestream the service so that people can watch it at home,” said Cormier, who is a retired lieutenant with the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Organizers are also exploring what Cormier described as a “unique opportunity” for the public to pay their respects, although committee members are still finalizing what that will look like.
Many Royal Canadian Legion branches are scaling back their services because of COVID-19, said Cormier. Those who attend the national service in Ottawa are even being encouraged to watch from home.
“The only reason why we’re doing this and moving it outdoors is simply to keep everyone in our community safe,” said Cormier.
“You can’t cancel Remembrance Day, you have to do something, so we will be commemorating the fallen in a respectful way and hope that the public will understand the situation.”
