Remembrance Day is a day meant to reflect on the generosity of veterans who have served Canada, and on Saturday, a service in their honour brought hundreds of people to Toronto’s Old City Hall to pay their respects.
Remarking on the icy temperature outside, Mayor John Tory, who spoke at the ceremony, said the wintry conditions seemed appropriate given the purpose of the gathering.
“That is, I think, a good thing within the context of Remembrance Day,” he said. “Because it might just give us the tiniest sense of the devastating circumstances in which our service men and women did their duty on our behalf in many past conflicts.”
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Tory said it’s important Torontonians take time to remember those who fought for freedom in Canada.
“The way of life we have here are possible because of all the people who sacrificed over the years,” he said.
Tory also particularly highlighted the Battle of Passchendaele, which concluded 100 years ago Friday.
Veterans and dignitaries were among those who attended the service, and Sgt.-Maj. David Turnbull, command brigade for the 32 brigade said it would be hard to find someone who hasn’t been touched by the war, more than 70 years ago.
“Canada was a nation of 11 million people during the First World War and we put almost a million people in uniform and that touched everyone across the country in every community,” Turnbull said.
“Canadians have always stepped up and every family has someone who has served in some capacity or another.”
During the service, ‘In Flanders Fields’ written by Lt.-Col.l John McCrae was read aloud and wreaths were laid at the base of the cenotaph to remember those soldiers who lost their lives.
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“Every community in Canada has a cenotaph similar to this one. It’s a centre point for all communities where everyone can come together,” Turnbull said.
This year also marked a century since the April 1917 Battle of Vimy Ridge, which saw nearly 3,600 Canadians killed and more than 7,000 wounded, and 75 years since the Dieppe Raid of the Second World War.
—With files from The Canadian Press