Barrie residents asked to commemorate Remembrance Day at home amid COVID-19 pandemic

Barrie officials are asking residents to commemorate Remembrance Day at home or virtually this year as Ontario continues into the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There will be no public ceremony at the Memorial Square cenotaph this year and residents are advised against gathering there on Nov. 11.

Officials say there are several ways to honour Remembrance Day, including tuning in to an online or televised ceremony, observing two minutes of silence at 11 a.m., wearing a poppy, learning about Nov. 11 and reaching out to a veteran by phone or email to say thank you.

“The city honours, remembers and commemorates Barrie’s fallen soldiers by featuring pictures of local veterans on flags displayed throughout Meridian Place and around the entire waterfront on Tiffin Street, as well as through the Barrie’s Fallen database on the city’s website,” officials say.

If residents want to lay a wreath at the Memorial Square cenotaph, they are asked to place their order with the Barrie Legion by Nov. 4 or to drop off a wreath at Legion Hall between 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Nov. 10 or before 9 a.m. on Nov. 11.

On Remembrance Day, veterans can also ride Barrie Transit free of charge with one companion by showing anything that identifies their status as a veteran.