More Interest This Year In Canada's Military Past Among Populace
Roberto Rocha, The Gazette (Montreal), 02 Nov. 2004
The poppies are flying out of the hands of Canada's veterans this Remembrance season, and that's mostly because of a revived interest in Canada's military, members of the Royal Canadian Legion say.
It's a surprising shift from years past, the Legion says, as their collection cans overflow with donations.
And unlike last year, almost no stores are turning away veterans and their poppies.
"It's amazing. We've collected more money in the last four days than we did all last year," said Joan Heaton, a Legion service officer in the Chomedey branch in Laval.
Yet despite the Legion's overall windfall, veterans' groups in eastern Montreal continue to battle low contributions. Veterans blame dwindling Legion membership and resistance from the mostly French-speaking population.
"Many people pass us by and ask what the poppy means," said Michael Greene, a veteran at the Montreal East branch of the Legion.
This year's increase in poppy sales nonetheless marks a major change in Quebec, which has traditionally been cool to military history. The media spotlight on the 60th anniversary of D-Day and the war in Iraq have caused a resurgence in interest in Canada's fighting forces, Legion members say.
"The world is such a mess today that people are more aware of what the poppy means," said Loretta Joyce, the poppy campaign manager in the Legion branch in Notre Dame de Grace.
"They know veterans are passing away and aren't coming back."
Last year's backlash against a handful of stores that refused to let veterans sell the poppies in their premises also helped. IKEA in St. Laurent and a CIBC branch in St. Lambert were among them.
"The bad publicity against IKEA certainly awakened people to what we're doing," Chomedey branch president Don Paradis said.
"We had so many stores offer space this year, it was more than we could handle," he added.
Evie Koutountzas, a spokesperson for Ikea, said the store learned from that debacle.
"The veterans community, especially here in St. Laurent, is very strong in reminding us of the sacrifices they made," Koutountzas said.
"And Montrealers don't forget what they do for us."
This year, Ikea gave the Legion a table near the exit, where traffic is highest, she said.
Every year, the Royal Canadian Legion, the country's largest veterans' organization, raises money through sales of the red-petaled flower. For two weeks leading to Remembrance Day on Nov. 11, Canadians wear the poppy on their lapels in memory of the soldiers who died in both world wars and in Korea. The funds support surviving veterans, their widows, and the hospitals that serve them.
Yet Legion branches in eastern Montreal don't collect as much as their counterparts on the west side of the island, officials say.
The Legion said it could not provide exact figures until after the poppy campaign ends.
While some veterans blame the traditional francophone indifference to military history, Greene said it comes down to numbers.
The Legion's membership in the east end is dwindling, he pointed out, and it's more likely to use cadets, generally age 15 to 23 years, to sell poppies.
Greene says some stores don't trust cadets, and ask the Legion to sign insurance agreements.
Paradis is cautious not to impute the difference in collections to the linguistic divide.
"Here in Chomedey we have as many francophones as anglophones," he said,"and we're doing very well."
Desmond Morton, a military historian at McGill University, lamented that it takes tragedy to spur remembrance.
"The increased attention to war makes people feel guilty," Morton said."People are driven by how George W. Bush wants to win an election.
"If it helps remembrance, it's OK. But at the same time, the world is in greater danger."
The poppies are flying out of the hands of Canada's veterans this Remembrance season, and that's mostly because of a revived interest in Canada's military, members of the Royal Canadian Legion say.
It's a surprising shift from years past, the Legion says, as their collection cans overflow with donations.
And unlike last year, almost no stores are turning away veterans and their poppies.
"It's amazing. We've collected more money in the last four days than we did all last year," said Joan Heaton, a Legion service officer in the Chomedey branch in Laval.
Yet despite the Legion's overall windfall, veterans' groups in eastern Montreal continue to battle low contributions. Veterans blame dwindling Legion membership and resistance from the mostly French-speaking population.
"Many people pass us by and ask what the poppy means," said Michael Greene, a veteran at the Montreal East branch of the Legion.
This year's increase in poppy sales nonetheless marks a major change in Quebec, which has traditionally been cool to military history. The media spotlight on the 60th anniversary of D-Day and the war in Iraq have caused a resurgence in interest in Canada's fighting forces, Legion members say.
"The world is such a mess today that people are more aware of what the poppy means," said Loretta Joyce, the poppy campaign manager in the Legion branch in Notre Dame de Grace.
"They know veterans are passing away and aren't coming back."
Last year's backlash against a handful of stores that refused to let veterans sell the poppies in their premises also helped. IKEA in St. Laurent and a CIBC branch in St. Lambert were among them.
"The bad publicity against IKEA certainly awakened people to what we're doing," Chomedey branch president Don Paradis said.
"We had so many stores offer space this year, it was more than we could handle," he added.
Evie Koutountzas, a spokesperson for Ikea, said the store learned from that debacle.
"The veterans community, especially here in St. Laurent, is very strong in reminding us of the sacrifices they made," Koutountzas said.
"And Montrealers don't forget what they do for us."
This year, Ikea gave the Legion a table near the exit, where traffic is highest, she said.
Every year, the Royal Canadian Legion, the country's largest veterans' organization, raises money through sales of the red-petaled flower. For two weeks leading to Remembrance Day on Nov. 11, Canadians wear the poppy on their lapels in memory of the soldiers who died in both world wars and in Korea. The funds support surviving veterans, their widows, and the hospitals that serve them.
Yet Legion branches in eastern Montreal don't collect as much as their counterparts on the west side of the island, officials say.
The Legion said it could not provide exact figures until after the poppy campaign ends.
While some veterans blame the traditional francophone indifference to military history, Greene said it comes down to numbers.
The Legion's membership in the east end is dwindling, he pointed out, and it's more likely to use cadets, generally age 15 to 23 years, to sell poppies.
Greene says some stores don't trust cadets, and ask the Legion to sign insurance agreements.
Paradis is cautious not to impute the difference in collections to the linguistic divide.
"Here in Chomedey we have as many francophones as anglophones," he said,"and we're doing very well."
Desmond Morton, a military historian at McGill University, lamented that it takes tragedy to spur remembrance.
"The increased attention to war makes people feel guilty," Morton said."People are driven by how George W. Bush wants to win an election.
"If it helps remembrance, it's OK. But at the same time, the world is in greater danger."