‘A lasting way to recognize’: Program honours 305 Canadians for service

A new program is recognizing more than 300 Canadian veterans, military spouses and retired RCMP members who are living in care facilities for older adults.

Dubbed “The Proud 305” by All Seniors Care Living Centres, the initiative honours veterans, spouses of Canadian Armed Forces members and RCMP workers who live in its homes. The company said the project title comes from the fact that there are 305 people being recognized in 2026 — the program’s inaugural year.

All Seniors Care Living Centres operates across Canada, with locations in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec.

David Rosnar was one of the people honoured. He served as an army reserve lieutenant in the early 1960s.

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“We have freedoms now. We can walk the streets and not have to worry about things. And I used to wear my poppy more than one day because I thought we shouldn’t just remember these things (for) one day,” Rosnar told Global News.

He, along with the hundreds of others being recognized this year, is among the people the organization is calling The Proud 305’s “founding members.” That title can only be held by the people being honoured this year, the company said in a news release. Founding members each received a certificate.

On top of acknowledging the groups’ broader contributions to Canada, The Proud 305 also notes the impacts they had on the communities they lived in.

In Rosnar’s case, he used to be a teacher. Among the lessons his students learned was the importance of remembrance, he said.

All Seniors Care Living Centres is a division of Castle Living Group. Lily Goodman, CEO of Castle Living Group, said that the founding members “represent an extraordinary legacy of service, sacrifice, courage and resilience.”

“We wanted to create something that goes beyond an annual day of remembrance – a lasting way to recognize the people among us who have served our country and supported those who did,” Goodman added in the news release.