Veterans Affairs committee  Absolutely. It's interesting you should mention that. Back in 2006 the Legion in fact did have a partnership with Air Canada, where they placed a poppy decal on a number of their aircraft. The problem that we ran into was making sure that a decal could stay affixed to the aircraf

Veterans Affairs committee  Absolutely. It will be. When we first applied the VOESF last year, we were looking at covering expenses for about an eight-month period. These closures have extended well beyond that—another five or six months. Now, there are as of Friday of this week another 884 Legions that wil

Veterans Affairs committee  Make sure you engage them in that decision-making process.

Veterans Affairs committee  We've been very fortunate that schools across the country still participated in the contest. Some of them may have been opened, and some may not, but they were still able to participate remotely. We have to make sure we continue that. Whatever means we have to undertake, we have

Veterans Affairs committee  We don't have clarity on what the situation is going to be like next year for the 2022 ceremony. However, we have a sample protocol that we can follow if it is required that we do it either entirely virtually or as a hybrid. As we get closer, we'll know better, but the big thing

Veterans Affairs committee  It really is a living history, a first-hand account that we cannot lose. We have to take advantage of it. We have to gather these as much as possible. I know you heard last week from Caroline Dromaguet from the War Museum and about the new initiative they are getting under way, c

Veterans Affairs committee  In 2014, the Legion undertook a review that indicated that although a number of Canadians would like to participate or become members of the Legion, especially younger veterans, they felt they didn't have time. They had family responsibilities and weren't of the stage in either t

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, I'm hearing the same thing, and that should never be. We have to make sure that service is recognized, and something as simple as placing dates on a community war memorial will go a long way to showing those who served in Afghanistan that we really care what they did and wan

Veterans Affairs committee  Currently only six per cent of our branches nationwide are fully open; 77% of our branches are completely closed or are accessible only by telephone or email. The money that was made available though the VOESF was extremely helpful and much appreciated, and the third disbursement

Veterans Affairs committee  What we have to do is continue to maintain our focus on education. Veterans Affairs has an excellent education program, engaging schools right across the country. The Legion is very happy to be part of that. I think that's where a focus really has to be maintained. There's noth

Veterans Affairs committee  I think it's important that we maintain both. As I said, for over 100 years, people have gathered at cenotaphs, and the reason they do that is that it's very much a sense of community and a sense of unity, and once the pandemic restrictions ease, people will come back to those me

Veterans Affairs committee  One of the greatest ways is through the poster and literary contests. As I noted, 100,000 young people from kindergarten through to grade 12 participate in that contest every year. It's absolutely incredible. Another thing is that the Legion National Foundation has a biennial pi

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and thank you for the invitation to the Legion to appear before you today. I am Steven Clark, national executive director. I have also served as the director of Canada's national Remembrance Day ceremony for 10 years, and have conceived and devel

Veterans Affairs committee  There hasn't been additional workload put onto the service officers. We've sustained the same level we had been providing on a remote basis, but the fact that we are still able to reach out to VAC staff for referrals in situations has been very helpful. All of our service officer

Veterans Affairs committee  Absolutely. We are going to be completely transparent and accountable, and I'm happy to do that.