A cross-section of the community gathers to pay respects
Members of the Canadian Forces, including soldiers from the Royal 22nd Regiment’s Fourth Bataillon, as well as Air, Sea and Army Cadets, joined dignitaries and citizens at Laval’s War Cenotaph near city hall last Sunday morning for a ceremony marking the annual Remembrance Day.
Among the dignitaries depositing wreaths at the base of the monument to the war dead on Souvenir Boulevard were local Liberal MPs Annie Koutrakis, Angelo Iacono and Yves Robillard, Quebec Liberal MNA Virginie Dufour, and CAQ MNAs Céline Haytayan, Alice Abou-Khalil, Valérie Schmaltz and Christopher Skeete.
Laval city councillor for Vimont Pierre Brabant deposited a wreath on behalf of the municipality. This year’s Silver Cross Mother was Niki Psiharis, representing mothers who have lost a son or daughter, be it in action or over the course of military duty.
Many other representatives of the Canadian Armed Forces, the 4th Bataillon Royal 22nd, RCL Branch 251, the Navy/Army/Aviation Cadets, the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board (SWLSB) and the Centre de services scolaires de Laval (CSDL) also deposited wreaths to pay their respects.
This year’s Remembrance Day commemoration also saw a field cannon fired off from a spot near the war memorial in tribute to those who suffered injuries or who gave their lives for their country.
The Royal Canadian Legion’s Branch 251 in Chomedey, which has been organizing the event annually, makes great efforts to organize the commemoration and starts working on it each year as early as May.
