For 70 years now, Canadian war veterans have held a New Year’s Eve show for members at the veterans’ hospital in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue.
Joe Mell has helped organize the annual cabaret for 65 of those years.
For Mell, organizing the show is a way to show support and offer comfort to fellow veterans.
“New Year’s is a tough time on the veterans,” he said. “The average age out here is 93 … They don’t have too many relatives living and their friends are all passed away.”
Mell said the show with its music and dance reminds veterans of the good old days.
But that holiday tradition may soon be a thing of the past.
While the show is still drawing a big crowd, the number of veterans is dwindling. And this year’s show almost didn’t happen after the hospital’s new administration said they didn’t want to hold it.
“They finally reneged and said ‘well ,you can have it on Jan. 6’,” event volunteer Tim Chambers said. “We said ‘no, you’re missing the point. It’s got to be New Year’s Eve, it’s been New Year’s Eve for 69 years, and it’s going to be New Year’s Eve again.'”
The hospital was once federally run but was transferred over to the province in April to become a care centre for the elderly. It is now run by the West Island Health and Social Services.
READ MORE: Quebec takes control of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue veterans hospital
The change of administration has made organizing the show that much more difficult, according to Mell.
“Now we seem to have a mixed bag,” he said. “We have Veterans Affairs still wanting to be involved, we have the Quebec government and sometimes the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing.”
Mell also feels veterans aren’t getting the care they deserve.
“It’s just not working out to my expectations,” he said. “I don’t think the veterans are as well taken care of as they were when there were more staff, better paid staff under the federal system.”
To be able to hold this year’s event was a show of strength by the veteran’s community.
“I’m a stubborn Irishman, if you’ll pardon the expression,” Mell said. “When we decide that something should be done, we’re going to do it come hell or highwater.”
But it wasn’t just stubbornness at play. Generosity was also a factor.
The show wouldn’t have been possible without the financial contributions from several branches of the Royal Canadian Legion.
Norman Shelton, a Legion volunteer, feels the hospital has to understand the veterans’ traditions.
“The new staff doesn’t know exactly the difference between the veterans and now that they’ve opened up here, they say ‘no we have other people here too’ but they gotta realize we have our veterans here and they’ve been here for a long time.”
While Saturday’s show went off without a hitch, pulling off the 71st edition of the New Year’s Cabaret might prove more difficult.
“It’s gonna be very difficult to run the show the way we’ve historically done,” Mell said.
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