REGINA -- Remembrance Day is an opportunity for Canadians to pay their respects to those who gave their lives to protect our freedoms.
Thousands gathered for Regina’s two Remembrance Day ceremonies to remember the soldiers who have died and also those that served our country on the battlefield.
The Brandt Centre was filled with people, young and old, as they took a moment to reflect.
The cold weather didn’t stop people from coming out to pay tribute to the fallen soldiers of the First and Second World Wars, Korean War and Afganistan War at Regina’s Cenotaph in Victoria Park.
“One of the great testaments of Canadians is they’ve always found a way to persevere, to adapt and to overcome and even today, you saw the adapt and overcome as people came here and took time to remember those who have gone before them,” LCDR. Jim Balfour, Padre at HMCS Queen, said.
Dozens of wreaths were laid at the foot of the Cenotaph and poppies made by elementary students in Regina were wrapped around the railings.
Many young cadets also took part in the ceremony. Azlin Mills with the 155th Royal Regina Rifles Cadet Corps says this year’s Remembrance Day has more meaning for him since joining cadets.
“You definitely do get to learn a lot more about it and you get a different respect through being able to work alongside people that have and are currently serving,” Mills said.
Balfour added that having young people taking part in the Remembrance Day ceremony is important to make sure the lessons of war are never lost.
“There’s that famous quote that if you do not remember your history, you’re doomed to repeat it,” Balfour said. “Canada has made enormous sacrifices, we’ve never been about wars of aggression, we’ve always been responding to human need.”
