A soft rain of red poppies, roughly 120,000 of them, drifted gently down during the two-minute silence at the opening ceremonies for The Royal Canadian Legion’s 44th Dominion Convention in Halifax, June 10-13. Each fashioned by a Nova Scotia student, most carried the name of a Canadian Forces member, of someone who gave his or her life in the service of Canada, sometimes a member of a student’s own family.

The poppies formed a red carpet in front of the raised platform in the Halifax Metro Centre whereupon the officers and official guests stood to attention in tribute to the fallen. It was a graphic reminder of the more than 116,000 Canadians who have lost their lives in service of their country and the legions of others who suffer after leaving military service. The poppy and what it represents is why Legionnaires were there, why the Legion exists, why the work of convention is important.