Serena Anagbe/ Photo Editor
Military man in uniform standing at attention, Remembrance Day 2023.
November marks the halfway point in the fall semester, two months down and two months to go. As leaves fall and temperatures drop, it is clear summer is over.
In this month’s issue, The Sputnik focuses on topics that might be uncomfortable to talk about, like politics, loneliness, the ongoing genocide overseas and gender inequality. These topics may be uncomfortable to digest, but we at The Sputnik feel they are important to speak about.
This month, Remembrance Day is taking place on Monday, Nov. 11 like it has since it was first observed in 1919. I never thought that Remembrance Day would be a controversial topic, but it is. In recent years there have been more issues surrounding this day. In 2020, Whole Foods banned their employees from wearing poppies, according to an article written for the CBC, without providing a reason for the ban.
Company dress codes are one thing, but in a conversation with Fred Beale, the president of the Brant Naval Veterans Association, he said there has been recent controversy in Brantford surrounding the noise level of Remembrance Day. During the memorial on Nov. 11, the minute gun is fired twice, once at 11 a.m. and again at 11:02 a.m. For less than five minutes out of the day, there is an excess of noise in downtown Brantford to honour our veterans and acknowledge all those who have died to keep our country safe — and the city fielded calls from people complaining. As of 2021, there are 97,625 active Canadian Armed Forces serving and 461,240 veterans according to Statistics Canada. During the First World War, over 650,000 Canadians and Newfoundlanders served and during the Second World War, over a million served both at home and around the globe. These men and women put themselves in danger willingly to protect the place we all call home. Despite all the politics and semantics surrounding this very complex problem, what it boils down to is many come back from active duty with irreversible trauma that will plague them for the rest of their lives or they do not come back at all. These people die for us and leave behind children, spouses, parents and siblings so that we can continue to be children, spouses, parents and siblings. It is truly disheartening that the mere minutes dedicated to acknowledging this incredibly noble sacrifice is being complained about to the city.
Especially considering Brantford’s history as a military town. Down the street from the Wilfrid Laurier University campus is the 56th Field Artillery Regiment and a little further away is the Canadian Military Heritage Museum, not to mention the many veterans’ associations in town.
As the next generation, it is important to recognize the extreme privilege we have been given by people who have lost their lives and loved ones and let them have as many minutes to honour that sacrifice as they like.
This article was originally published in print Volume 24, Issue 3 on Thursday, November 7.
