Large crowds returned to the National War Memorial Thursday for Remembrance Day, resuming an annual scene that was absent last year when Canadians were advised to stay away from the ceremony because of COVID-19 restrictions.
In-person local ceremonies were also held across the country.
The Globe and Mail’s Remembrance Day coverage includes an interview with Jack Rhind, a Second World War veteran and centenarian, who says the brutality of war is something he hopes to never see again.
Mr. Rhind has visited schools and community groups to share his stories and the importance of remembrance.
“A hundred thousand Canadians were killed or injured, families where their father, their son, or their husband didn’t come back, so we shouldn’t just forget all that,” he said in an interview.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
SUSPICIOUS PACKAGE PROMPTS REMEMBRANCE DAY DELAY - The arrival of dignitaries at the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa was delayed due to a suspicious package in the vicinity, the RCMP’s National Division said Thursday.
Both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Governor-General Mary Simon, who is also the Commander in Chief of Canada, arrived behind the Royal Canadian Legion’s schedule. The delay prompted questions among those watching the ceremony.
SINCLAIR TO FACILITATE COMPENSATION TALKS - Former Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner Murray Sinclair will facilitate high-stakes compensation talks related to the welfare of Indigenous children with the goal of reaching a settlement by the end of the year, The Globe and Mail has learned.
Murray Sinclair, who left the Senate last January, will now help to guide talks under way in Ottawa. On Wednesday evening, parties to the discussions confirmed in a statement that he will chair the process.
BERNIER LAWSUIT DISMISSED - Maxime Bernier’s lawsuit against Warren Kinsella over a secret campaign called Project Cactus has been dismissed by an Ontario Superior Court judge, who ruled the People’s Party of Canada Leader failed to prove that his defamation concerns outweighed the importance of protecting free speech in the political realm.
The defence of Mr. Kinsella, a political columnist and former Liberal strategist, relied on Ontario’s “anti-SLAPP” legislation, which is aimed at discouraging the use of a strategic lawsuit against public participation in which libel cases are used to chill critics from speaking out about public policy matters.
O’TOOLE IS SENDING A MESSAGE TO HIS CAUCUS CRITICS, MP SAYS: Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole’s decision to largely exclude critics of mandatory vaccination from his shadow cabinet this week is prompting strong reaction from both sides of his divided caucus ahead of Parliament’s opening later this month.
Several high-profile Conservative MPs – including Mark Strahl and Shannon Stubbs – who had made public comments critical of mandatory vaccination or the party’s position on the issue, were stripped of their critic roles when Mr. O’Toole released his updated list Tuesday. They were also absent from a list of deputy shadow-cabinet critics announced Wednesday.
PRIME MINISTER'S DAY
Mr. Trudeau and his wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau attended the National Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa Thursday morning. He was then scheduled to virtually participate in the Paris Peace Forum.
LEADERS
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole released a Remembrance Day statement Thursday but his party did not distribute a public itinerary for the leader’s day. He posted photos Wednesday on social media of him laying a wreath at the Highway of Heroes Durham LAV Monument.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is scheduled to attend an afternoon Remembrance Day Ceremony in Burnaby, B.C.
The Bloc Québécois also released a Remembrance Day statement but did not announce public events for leader Yves-François Blanchet.
OPINION
Lawrence Martin (The Globe and Mail) on how Joe Biden’s milestone VP pick is looking more like a millstone: “As the first African-American as well as the first woman to become Vice-President, Ms. Harris’s appointment was groundbreaking – and potentially trailblazing. Now, less than 10 months from Inauguration Day, it’s beginning to look less like a milestone than a millstone. Leaks from the Biden White House paint an unflattering portrait. Instead of Ms. Harris as heir-apparent to Joe Biden, it’s boy-wonder Pete Buttigieg, now serving as Transportation Secretary, who is the one on the move. Though she is being clobbered in the media, Ms. Harris has ample time to recover. Ten months do not a vice-presidency make. Maybe it’s just been growing pains. But there are real doubts about her skills as a retail politician.”
Konrad Yakabuski (The Globe and Mail) on why Pierre Poilievre’s reappointment as Tory finance critic sends all the wrong messages: “On Tuesday, Mr. O’Toole rewarded Mr. Poilievre’s insubordination by reinstating him as Tory finance critic. The move spoke volumes about Mr. O’Toole’s priorities as he seeks to preserve his job. The moderate Mr. O’Toole who surfaced during the federal election campaign has reverted into his pre-campaign guise, pandering to the loudest voices on the right to save his leadership. To be clear, it is entirely fair game for opposition politicians to scrutinize the Bank of Canada’s policies, despite the central bank’s formal independence from the government of the day. But politicians should limit their interventions to determining whether specific policies fall within the bank’s mandate – which is determined by Parliament – rather than politicizing its actions.”
Sarah Mushtaq (Policy Options) on why the Liberal government must rid the country of systemic Islamophobia: “Meaningfully addressing Islamophobia in this country is not a simple undertaking. There is no denying that the Liberal government has inherited a number of institutions and bureaucracies that have been influenced by anti-Muslim prejudices, and this has been reinforced over many decades by successive governments that failed to recognize and tackle this problem. That being said, it is imperative Trudeau act swiftly to address institutionalized Islamophobia now, as a first step in undoing the damage and restoring the proper function of government, which is to equitably serve the people, not to unfairly target them.”
John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) on how Western politicians are divided on Ottawa’s oil cap, but agree they should have been consulted: “Of course, Saskatchewan is not a nation within Canada. But Premier Scott Moe is doing more than simply grandstanding.
Central Canadian politicians are once again treating the Prairies as a colonial possession, not fully equal within Confederation. The whole country pays a price when that happens.”
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