Prince Edward Island Command of The Royal Canadian Legion is no more—in name, that is.
In one of his last official acts at the helm of the country’s smallest collection of RCL branches, outgoing president Jack MacIsaac declared passed a motion to change the name to Prince Edward Island/Magdalen Islands Command.
The unanimous approval at the Island’s 67th convention comes as a nod to the Quebec archipelago’s lone Legion branch and its 30 members whose forebears opted to join their neighbouring island of P.E.I., 120 kilometres south, rather than the province to which Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine belong, 120 kilometres northwest.
“They’re kind of the long-lost cousin of ours, if you will, but we do look after them and are in touch with them frequently,” said MacIsaac. “We were never called [P.E.I.-Magdalen Islands Command], we were just called P.E.I. Command. But we’d like to change that so the Magdalen Islands is included.”
Shortly thereafter, the Charlottetown resident swore in the new command executive: President David Doucette
of Lt.-Col. E.W. Johnstone Branch in Kensington; First Vice Mario Couture of the host Wellington Branch; vice-presidents Gordon Perry of George Pearkes VC Branch in Summerside, Mario Henry of Borden-Carleton Branch in Borden and Robert MacDougall of Miscouche Branch; and two more Wellington Branch members, finance chair Gilles Painchaud and vice finance chair Marlene Gaudet.
Legionnaires parade in Wellington ahead of the 67th P.E.I. Command convention.[Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
The new president, a metal worker and Legion member for 27 years, said veterans will remain the command’s No. 1 priority.
“It’s always been veterans,” Doucette said in a post-convention interview. “Veterans are first and foremost, making sure we serve them any way we can.”
He said 75 WW II and Korean War veterans attended his first RCL veterans’ dinner hosted annually by the branch in Kensington. Now they’re down to four.
When people think of veterans, he said they still tend to think of the world wars and Korea, but he added the emphasis is shifting toward Afghanistan and peacekeeping vets now that those who served in WW II and the Korean War are aging out.
“My goal is to make sure they are all looked after, any way we can,” said Doucette.
“There is a good-sized community of younger veterans, a lot of young men who have served in Afghanistan on the Island.”
The new P.E.I. Command executive, flanked by provincial Sergeant-at-Arms Dennis Hopping: finance vice chair Marlene Gaudet, Vice-President Mario Henry, First Vice Mario Couture, Vice-President Gordon Perry, Immediate Past President Jack MacIssac, Chair Duane Phelan, President David Doucette and finance chair Gilles Painchaud. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Painchaud, Sergeant-at-Arms at the host Wellington Branch, reads the roll during the convention.[Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Doucette said local Legions need to reclaim their place in their cities, towns and villages.
“Years ago, the Legions were the centre of the communities—every wedding, every birthday, every anniversary, we were always here. And it’s starting to get away from that. I want the people to realize, you know, that there is still the Legion in the community, and we’ve got to get them back. We’re not just a bar here; we want to serve our veterans, but we also want to serve our community.”
The primary challenge is the same across the country: engaging younger veterans.
Doucette, whose son served two Afghanistan tours, said veterans’ needs have changed. After the two world wars, “Captain Morgan helped them with their problems.
“And the younger ones? I wish I had the answer.”
He said the war is still fresh to many.
“They’re not as apt to open up. The old fellas, they put it in the closet and never ever spoke. And back then that was par for the course—shove it under the table and ‘we’ll not worry about it.’ Now, it is a very touchy subject. They keep to themselves.
“The worst part of it is—and I hate to say it but—when they do want to talk about it, it’s in a very negative way. A lot of hate. It was a different kind of war…you didn’t know who you were fighting over there. During the first and second world wars, at least you could see the fella you were shooting at, so to speak. Over there, you didn’t.”
Once the war ended, he said, it was as if the country didn’t need them anymore, added Doucette. “A lot of them young men were hurting mentally, wouldn’t go for help because they knew if they went for help they’d get kicked out of the Forces.”
Newly minted provincial presidents George Della Valle of Nova Scotia/Nunavut and Lynn McClellan of Ontario were observers, while N.S./Nunavut past president Donna McRury was a jill of all trades, helping out during the two-day convention at the gateway to P.E.I.’s Evangeline region, so named for its rich Acadian roots.
“We were never called [P.E.I.-Magdalen Islands Command], we were just called P.E.I. Command. But we’d like to change that.”
The walls of the Wellington Branch are plastered with Arsenaults, Poiriers, Richards and Gaudets, their names prominent among the area dead of two world wars, Korea, and throughout the annals of the Legion’s 79-year history here.
In P.E.I., everything Legion works on a smaller scale, especially compared to McClellan’s Ontario Command, with its 388 branches and 100,000-plus members. The Island has 18 branches and 1,850 members.
The command spent $116,672 in 2024 on revenues of $120,432, for a surplus of $1,760.
P.E.I. Command withdrew its sponsorship of athletes aspiring to compete in the annual Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships three years ago. It has since endorsed an Athletics PEI initiative, funded by a $7,000 grant from the provincial government, to send athletes under the Island RCL banner to the Legion-sponsored event.
Advertisement
