Throughout the pandemic, I continue to be impressed by the ingenuity of Legion branches across the country. Currently, as of last week, 7% of our branches still have not opened since March 2020, 27% of our branches are fully open and the rest to varying degrees, so the pandemic is still not behind us from an operations point of view.
The Royal Canadian Legion was extremely grateful to the Government of Canada for the veterans organizations emergency support fund that was provided. That was a hand-up. I'm not calling it a handout, but a hand-up, to Legion branches nationwide. Through that program, 998 branches received assistance, and it was a lifeline for them. It enabled them to continue on with their operations, but they had to supplement it. Whether it was through other fundraising initiatives or simply reaching out to the community, that's how they continued on with their operations. Community support was key.