The West Van Legion

The Moose Jaw Royal Canadian Legion Branch #59 is back in business, even though there may not be as many tables available, there may be a whole lot of precautions in place and it may not be quite the same as the old days.

The Legion has recently reopened up after about three months of being shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Things are picking up as more and more of their members return for the friendship and camaraderie.

According to the Legion’s public relations officer Norma Richardson, they have a little bit of construction still going on right now, which limits their space, and with social distancing due to the pandemic, they are down to seven tables of six.

The construction work is being conducted by the new owners of the building to deal with a handful of structural problems, further limiting the seating. However, that hasn’t been much of a problem, particularly if folks can gather after so much time stuck at home.

The good news goes even further since the Legion will restart their popular meat draws on Saturday, Aug. 1 at 3 p.m. The event features patrons buying tickets for a handful of draws for roasts, steaks, and everything in between. To be one of the Legion’s top fundraisers, it is an event that’s near and dear to its heart.

Of course, with the COVID-19 pandemic, there are a few extra restrictions in place: besides the strict seating, no pool, darts, or shuffleboard can be played, and a strict cleaning regimen will be followed.

But now, just live and let live and enjoy the chance to hang out.

The Royal Canadian Legion Branch #59 lounge is open from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m on Monday through Saturday, only closed on Sundays. Veterans’ coffee takes place Monday through Saturday at 10 a.m.

The national brand of university sports in Canada, U Sports, has decided to postpone 6 of its national championships for the 2020 fall season, according to a press release from the league on Monday.

The league came to the conclusions to make the cancellations due to concerns regarding student-athlete health and safety as well as travel and health restrictions that are affecting parts of the country.

Lisette Johnson-Stapley, U Sports chief sport officer said in a press release that U Sports has been working hard with the 4 conferences, their 56 member institutions and medical experts to examine the feasibility of delivering the fall national championships this season. Taking into account the academic realities of U sport, they arrived at a point where a tough decision had to be made.

Sports affected by the postponement include, men and women’s cross country running, women and men’s soccer, women’s field hockey, women’s rugby and football, which includes the Mitchell and Uteck bowls, and the Vanier Cup – the Canadian university football championship game.

The four conferences under U Sports, Canada West, the Atlantic University Sport, and the Ontario University Athletics, have also decided to cancel all of their team sports till Dec. 31, 2020.

Dr. Mike DeGagné, the chair of the OUA board of directors, said in a press release that unprecedented times require unprecedented action, which was what led them to that difficult decision. The health of student-athletes, coaches, administrators, officials, and fans is their top priority.

The Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ), has not postponed any fall 2020 sports, but is expected to make an announcement in the near future.

According to the deputy general director of the RSEQ Stéphane Boudreau, the league wants to use the time they have and see what directives the Quebec governments give before making any decision.

The Moose Jaw branch of the Royal Canadian Legion did their part to remember fallen Canadian Forces Snowbird Capt. Jenn Casey on Friday morning.

Members of Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 59 were on hand at Tourism Moose Jaw to lay a wreath at the impromptu memorial found the base of the Snowbirds Tutor jet display.

Capt. Jenn Casey – the public relations officer for the 431 Air Demonstration Squadron – was killed when the Snowbird jet piloted by Capt. Richard MacDougall suffered a malfunction on take-off and crashed into a residential area in Kamloops, B.C.. MacDougall survived and is recovering from his injuries in hospital.

The accident hit home a little harder for Legion Branch 59 vice president Sue Knox, who had prior experience with the team as a record keeper and later during her time in service.

“Because Moose Jaw is the home of the Snowbirds, we felt it was fitting to memorialize Capt. Casey and to provide something on behalf of the Legion in that respect,” Knox said.

“She made her home here for the last few years as part of the Snowbirds community, and even though the Legion is closed as part of the pandemic, we thought we would get as many as we could together on short notice and have a bit of memorial on behalf of the Legion membership.”

Legion members held an official ceremony, laying a wreath and playing Last Post and Reveille. Their tribute wasn’t the only one, as the number of flowers, wreaths and special memorial messages has grown exponentially in the week since the accident, with the City of Moose Jaw even watering the new flowers to keep them fresh.

“It’s beautiful and a really nice gesture,” Knox said.

The ceremony wrapped with members expressing their support for everyone involved.

“We certainly extend our best wishes to Capt. MacDougall and his family and hope for a speedy recovery on his behalf,” Knox said. “They’ll both be missed until he can get back in the saddle, and certainly Capt. Casey will be sorely missed by her comrades.”

Royal Canadian Legion branches are launching their services in order to help veterans during the coronavirus pandemic, even when the national organization warns that financial pressures might cause the shut down of some branches.

The national veterans and community service group’s head has said that in spite of the closure of most branches, volunteers still prepare hot meals, deliver groceries and provide online social links to fighting veterans.

Dominion President Thomas Irvine said the attempts come when legion branches are under considerable financial pressures due to the coronavirus pandemic, with their major sources of income, including in-house restaurants and bars and hosted events, cutting off. Legion members are united across the country to do what is best for the veterans in their communities.

However, with 1,350 branches that essentially operate as autonomous small businesses, Irvine added that they are feeling the strain of mounting bills and lost income when they continue their work. Many branches are accepting donations or dipping into their poppy funds in order to continue work in their communities. Moreover, they are being advised to investigate deferring bill payments to suppliers or utilities in order to look to provincial governments for support.

According to Irvine, the branches are central in most small towns and in one to two months from now, they might be closed since they had no income. Meanwhile, volunteers at the branches are still trying to find ways to help isolated veterans, many of whom have health problems that make them susceptible to the virus.

Legion president Toni McKelvie of Fonthill, Ont., said that she and a small volunteers group have started cooking meals for veteran members and seniors in their community.

Up to now, they have cooked more than 700 dinners and arranged drop-offs in order to encourage social distancing and keep people safe.

Mr. Justin Trudeau may be re-elected Prime Minister of Canada. But the price his Liberal party will pay is the majority in the House of Representatives.

In 2015, the Liberal Party won a resounding election in the House of Representatives and the chosen man was Justin Trudeau. With voter-friendly style, the former son of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. He is expected to be the new breeze for Ottawa. That was usually for old politicians.

That belief has more or less responded after 4 years. During Trudeau’s term, Canada has achieved some significant achievements in the economic field: The unemployment rate dropped to a record level; rapid economic growth and falling poverty rates.

In the beginning, the image of the young, energetic and near Prime Minister impressed many people. His active and active role in international issues such as climate change, trade protectionism is also highly appreciated.

However, as a human being, everyone makes mistakes and the Canadian Prime Minister is no exception. In terms of image, during his term, Mr. Trudeau regularly upheld the anti-racist slogan and acted against the principle he often declared. Politically, the Liberal party is gradually losing its advantage and if it wants to have enough votes to form a government.

The young voters who voted for the Liberal party and Mr. Justin Trudeau are gradually losing faith in this leader. According to them, Ottawa has not brought the change that they want.

Trudeau’s victory in 2015 was in no small part due to the support of young voters. And without these votes, the Prime Minister’s re-election journey will be much more difficult.

Will these mistakes cause Mr. Trudeau and the Liberal party to fail in the upcoming election? The answer is yes and no.

The Liberal Party is likely to continue to be the greatest power on the political scene in Ottawa. In this context, if all goes well, Mr. Trudeau may be re-elected to the Prime Minister for a second term.

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The West Van Legion

Moose Jaw Royal Canadian Legion reopen for business

Majority of Canadian university sports postponed until winter 2021

Royal Canadian Legion honors fallen Snowbird

Royal Canadian Legion adapt to help veterans during COVID-19 pandemic

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