“It’s going to be very different this year,” said John Mogensen, vice-president for the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 554 (Rockland), during a phone interview October 5. “It will be a very quiet ceremony.”

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Un jour du Souvenir tranquille cette année

Dominion Command has instructed all Legion branches to revise their Remembrance Day ceremony plans because of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the annual Poppy Campaign will continue as usual with donation boxes and poppies available October 30 at local stores and other outlets, the actual November 11 ceremony at the cenotaph in Rockland will be scaled down.

“This is proving to be a very difficult year for many of us,” stated Mogensen.. “Wearing masks in public, working from home or losing our jobs, relying on government assistance, and the list goes on. COVID-19 is forcing us to make some radical changes, and the Legion is no different.”

There will be a Remembrance Day ceremony at the cenotaph November 11 but attendance is limited to a small group of invited guests from the City of Clarence-Rockland and the Legion. Residents are asked not to attend at the cenotaph at 11 a..m. that day. Any member of the general public who tries to attend at the cenotaph during the ceremony will be turned away.

There will be no parades prior to the ceremony nor will a piper attend at the cenotaph. There will not be an after-ceremony luncheon. Air cadets, Scouts, Guides, Brownies, Cub, and Sparks or other youth or service group members will not attend and student groups from local schools are not asked to attend.

Resident can watch the ceremony at home through a livestreaming setup at the Legion’s Facebook page. The Legion will also have TVC22 film the event for later broadcast on the community television channel.