OTTAWA —
Royal Canadian Legion halls across the country have been shuttered for months due to COVID-19, and now a number of them are facing the prospect of never being able to reopen.
With most ineligible for the host of federal aid programs being offered to help keep other businesses and charitable organizations afloat, hundreds of these facilities could be forced to shut their doors forever without federal intervention.
Legions are often seen as the heart of many communities — where Remembrance Day celebrations are held and meals are made and delivered to those in need — but because the pandemic has put a pause on events, it’s cut off crucial income streams like facility rentals that allow legions to keep their doors open to veterans and others.
It’s estimated that about 124 of the 1,381 Royal Canadian Legion branches across Canada are likely to close permanently, and another 357 are facing financial hardship.
“We’re a 95-year-old organization. And in that 95 years, we have prided ourselves on being self-sufficient, we have not reached out for funding. But these are unprecedented times,” National Executive Director Steven Clark said.
The Royal Canadian Legion has written to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office twice, informing him of the gaps in the current federal aid offerings, and says they have yet to receive a response. The Prime Minister’s Office disputes that claim, confirming at least one response has been sent.
A government source told CTV News a reason the legions can’t get funding is because their programs are not directly related to the fight against COVID-19, though thousands of businesses have been able to access billions of federal aid dollars to make ends meet amid the pandemic.
In an email to CTV News, spokesperson for the Office of the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Jessica Eritou pointed to the Emergency Community Support Fund as something legions that support veterans “may” qualify for to adapt their programs, and committed to “work with organizations to ensure they have the support they need to support Canadians.”
However, that program is offered to help adapt programming in the era of COVD-19 and the Royal Canadian Legion says that it’s their understanding based on conversations with federal officials that it can’t be used to cover operational costs, which is their biggest need right now.
They are calling on the federal government to expand the program’s parameters or allow them to access some other funding option to help pay for costs like rent and utilities.
While some branches may have employees on their payroll and could be eligible for some assistance, most are volunteer-run.
“We’ve had, of our 1,381 branches 167 have applied for federal assistance programs, but unfortunately only 55 have received that funding so it’s still a very small percentage,” Clark said.
Local branches have been given some emergency reserve funding from the national headquarters, and have turned to crowdfunding initiatives but still the money is running out. While millions of dollars are donated every year through the National Poppy Campaign, this money can’t be used to cover the operational costs associated with keeping these facilities open.
While Legions have been struggling for years to attract new members, having to close due to the pandemic could prove to be the final straw for many.
The branch in Kenora says it can only last a few more months before its closure becomes permanent.
“It’s extremely dire. We were good for the short haul, but as this keeps going, and we don’t know really where the light at the tunnel is going to be, we’re just not going to be able to survive,” said President of the Kenora Legion Jerry Lava.
“We’re depleting our savings now to make sure we can maintain our expenses. We’ve mothballed pretty well everything in the branch we could,” Lava said.
In a statement to CTV News, spokesperson for Veterans Affairs Canada John Embury said that the department’s response to the pandemic “is ongoing, and we will continue to explore ways to ensure that we’re providing Canadians and our community partners with the support they need.
Branches like this are the first point of contact for veterans and offer them crucial services and support, and that’s why so many are worried about what the future holds.
“I come to the legion and I meet old friends, and the comradery. It’s a place where you come and tell your story,” said Joel VanSnick, who is the Royal Canadian Legion’s district commander for the Ottawa-area which includes 62 branches.
“Once our legions are shut down, they’re gone… Where are veterans going to go to meet?” he said.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
