Marking Remembrance Day

Veterans deserve their day and fallen soldiers deserve recognition but a statutory holiday for Nov. 11, which marks the date and time when armies stopped fighting World War I, is not going to make it any more meaningful.

While Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. is the customary time Canadians mark their war dead, events across the West Island are held prior to that day, including ceremonies held Sunday at the Pointe Claire's cenotaph and last Thursday in Ste. Anne de Bellevue with students on the John Abbott College campus and even some local churches, such as St. Veronica’s in Dorval, have special displays set up in front of their alter to mark the occasion prior to the official Nov. 11 date.

Jacques Cartier MNA Geoff Kelley has a good point for keeping the status quo to mark the solemn occasion of Remembrance Day. ”I think it is important that young people are in school that day, which allows them to participate in ceremonies organized by their school. I believe that a pause, marked everywhere at 11 a.m., is a more powerful act of remembrance than a day off,” he stated.

Since making Remembrance Day a statutory paid holiday is a provincial jurisdiction, Ottawa cannot force the issue, said Pierrefonds-Dollard MP Bernard Patry, adding the most important thing is to remember fallen soldiers, who fought for freedom in world wars, even if it’s not a day off from work or school.

West Islanders should be glad that at least Quebec isn’t the sole province where it is not a statutory holiday since it is doubtful even a Charest Liberal government would try to bring a ‘federal’ holiday into the mix that is the zany provincial political scene.

Although making Nov. 11 a statutory holiday for all provinces would be a nice symbolic gesture, it wouldn't stop people from turning it into just another day off to laze about.

We should all take the time to mark Remembrance Day, so the sacrifices made members of the armed forces (soldiers, sailors and airmen) who served their country are not forgotten. A day off for all won’t necessarily make Nov. 11 anymore meaningful. At the very least, people should wear a poppy in the weeks leading up to Remembrance Day. The best way to remember these fallen soldiers - and to thank those veterans still with us - is by taking a moment of silence on Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. no matter where you are, at work, home or school.