REGINA -- The Regina branch of the Royal Canadian Legion will only host one Remembrance Day ceremony in Regina this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The annual large ceremony at Evraz Place has been cancelled this year.
The only ceremony will be held at the Cenotaph in Victoria Park, but will be closed to the public in order to comply with the province’s gathering size restrictions. The ceremony will be live-streamed online.
“We’re going to have a barricade around the Cenotaph and there will be roughly 30 people inside,” Ron Hitchcock, president and CEO of Branch 001 of the Royal Canadian Legion in Regina, said.
This year, the wreaths will already be in place.
Despite fewer people being able to attend the ceremony in person, the Legion is hoping the public will still show support by making donations online.
Hitchcock said last year it made around $25,000 on Remembrance Day from donations. That money goes towards maintaining the two veteran’s cemeteries in Regina and maintaining the Cenotaph.
“It is revenue lost, but it’s better to be safe than sorry,” Hitchcock said. “We’ll rely on the generosity of the citizens of Regina and Saskatchewan to help not only our Legion, but all Legions in the province because the money that we collect stays in this province and helps our veterans.”
Hitchcock said although things are different this year, he still encourages the public to take part in the virtual ceremony.
“Hopefully they reminisce on what it means to have the freedom to have choices,” he said. “To me, that’s the most important thing that we have in this country.”
Wednesday’s ceremony from the Cenotaph will be live-streamed on ctvnewsregina.ca.
