OTTAWA –
Canada’s national Remembrance Day ceremony is set to kick off in Ottawa at around 10:30 a.m. ET with the veterans’ march.
Gloria Hooper, the national Silver Cross Mother, will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Hooper’s son Chris Holopina was the first Canadian peacekeeper to be killed in the UN operation in Bosnia in 1996, when he was just 22 years old.
She travelled from rural Manitoba to take part in the event.
As always, the Last Post will be played, followed by two minutes of silence at 11 a.m. ET to commemorate the time the armistice went into effect on Nov. 11, 1918, ending the First World War.
The events at the National War Memorial will be broadcast live on TV and streamed online by the Royal Canadian Legion for those who cannot attend in person.
The prime minister is among the dignitaries expected to attend, as is Veterans Affairs Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor.
“The (focus) this week, for me as the minister of veterans affairs, is certainly to thank the men and women (who) have served in uniform and have served our country proudly,” she said.
Remembrance Day this year comes at a time when peace seems far off for many. More than 11,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip. An estimated 1,200 Israelis were killed in the Oct. 7 attacks by militant group Hamas that set off the current conflict.
Meanwhile, Ukrainians are bracing for another winter of war as Russia’s invasion continues.
“I think that many Canadians, many folks around the world are really reflecting on what is happening in the Middle East at this point in time,” she said.
“Many individuals (who) have served in times of crisis, I’m sure, can absolutely relate to what is going on.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 11, 2023.