Young and old gathered for the annual Remembrance Day event at Heroes Park on the Montreal West Island neighbourhood of Beaconsfield, and the atmosphere was solemn. Due to the epidemic, it was the first one in three years.
The retired Major Richard Gratton made the observation that “we need to remember our veterans around this time of the year.” He is the chair of the Heroes Committee, which organized the event.
It was one of many such events that took place on the Saturday before November 11th in local towns near Montreal.
The ceremony on Saturday honoured active-duty military members and those who died while serving.
“I’ve served with a lot of military people around the world and it is very important that we remember their sacrifice,” said former United Nations contractor Cornelius Campbell after the ceremony in Beaconsfield.
Some people, like Gratton, used the opportunity to pause and consider the state of the world, notably the situation in Ukraine.
Global News quoted Gratton as saying, “I can’t believe that we have a war in Europe at this time, at this age.
He and Quebec Liberal Party MNA Gregory Kelley are cautioning that Canadians should not take democracy for granted.
Gratton noted that because the globe appeared to be in such peril, “some of the echoes of what we saw in the 1930s are very much back in the forefront of what’s going on in the world.”
He talked on American politics and the dangers to democracy there that he perceives.
“Trying to restrict voting rights, trying to really erode the institutions of democracy in the United States, questioning whether or not elections are valid,” he said. “That is very troubling.
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Remembrance Day ceremonies in Beaconsfield provide an opportunity to consider democracy
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