Remembrance Day Ceremony in Sudbury's Memorial Park cancelled

A Remembrance Day ceremony planned in Sudbury's Memorial Park has been cancelled, the interim president of Royal Canadian Legion Branch 76 confirmed.

Instead, Sudbury's two legions -- there is also Lockerby Legion Branch 564 -- will each host their own smaller ceremonies with legion members, veterans and a few dignitaries.

Branch 76 interim president John Goedhuis said he was disappointed the city could not make the ceremony in Memorial Park work.

"As a veteran, Memorial Park, the cenotaph, is where we would go and pay our respects to fallen soldiers, veterans of different conflicts," he said. "And right now, from that perspective, the visual is very disheartening."

The ceremonies have occurred in at the Sudbury Arena since 1985, although last year's was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year's event would have been the first to take place at the outdoor cenotaph.

"With the restrictions lifting, we looked at it as an opportunity to bring as many people as we could together safely in an environment where, again, we could celebrate and we can do the act of remembrance," Goedhuis said.

Tent encampment

The 2021 ceremony was cancelled at the Memorial Park location due to a tent encampment at that location, where many of the city's people experiencing homelessness have gathered. 

Goedhuis said both legions alternate the planning of each year's Remembrance Day ceremony. This year the Lockerby Legion was responsible for planning.

On Oct. 26 Lockerby Legion president Jennifer Huard said the city would clear the tent encampment in the park ahead of Nov. 11, to allow for the ceremony.

But the city later said it would instead help move some tents to the edge of the park, to make room for the ceremony, without dismantling the encampment.

Goedhuis said the ceremony was cancelled because it would not have been safe to hold it there, due to waste, including needles, and a COVID-19 outbreak that occurred in the park in late October.

"We recognize at this point almost a week out from the celebration, that it would be very difficult to clean up the park for our community of veterans," he said.

Cleanup effort in the park

But despite the cancelled ceremonies, a crew contracted by the city was in Memorial Park on Nov. 3 to help clean up the space, and is scheduled to return on Nov. 10.

Stefany Mussen, the city's manager of corporate security and bylaw services, said individuals are welcome to go to the park on Remembrance Day to pay their respects to Canada's veterans.

Goedhuis, Branch 76's interim president, said he empathizes with the people who live in the encampment, and said some are even veterans.

"Unfortunately, a lot of them refuse support and services, and I think that has more to do with the mental health aspect," he said.

Goedhuis said his frustration was directed at the city, and not the individuals in the encampment.

"This situation just didn't happen overnight," he said. "This has been ongoing for quite some time. There's a lot of talk and communication as to what as a city, or as agencies to provide support, could do."