Our Veterans

At its meeting via videoconference on June 6-7, Dominion Executive Council approved several significant motions and considered how COVID-19 will affect The Royal Canadian Legion in the coming months. The impact of the pandemic was a common theme through the meeting: the risk of branches failing and measures to support them; the impact on membership dues and supply sales; and uncertainty over when or whether planned events in the Legion and the wider veteran community would take place. In April, DEC announced it would release up to $3 million from the national reserves to help struggling branches in the wake of the coronavirus. Approximately $1.35 million in Branch Emergency Funds—non-repayable grants—had been dispersed to date. A second tranche and how it would be administered was the fo...

The next issue of Canada’s Ultimate Story is Canada and the Victoria Cross. Help choose the cover by casting your vote. No one ever set out to earn a Victoria Cross, which is awarded for “valour in the face of the enemy.” They were mostly spontaneous acts in the heat of battle. Of 98 Canadian recipients, 36 received their award posthumously. For dozens of action-packed accounts of valour and sacrifice on the battlefield, pick up a copy of Canada and the Victoria Cross, to be released on newsstands in November 2020. CLICK ON THE ABOVE PHOTO TO ENLARGE   Loading…

The Métis National Council (MNC) formally announced its Veterans Legacy Program on June 29 in Ottawa. The program is part of the $30-million agreement signed by Canada and the Métis Nation on June 13, 2019, to honour Métis veterans of the Second World War and provide compensation payments. The agreement came with a formal apology from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the wrongs experienced by Métis veterans when they returned from the war. “Our nation has waited 75 years for this. Canada’s apology to our veterans has resonated throughout the Métis homeland with reverence,” said MNC Veterans Minister David Chartrand. “Those we have lost during our struggle for recognition can finally rest in peace, knowing they have been recognized and honoured for their contributions and sacrifice. Ou...