Thousands mark Remembrance Day in Winnipeg

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/11/2022 (1296 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitobans paid their respect to the country’s war dead Friday morning, including thousands who gathered at the RBC Convention Centre to participate in Winnipeg’s largest in-person Remembrance Day service.

“It brings us such joy to be able gather once again and welcome back our community as we pay our respect to those who have answered the call to serve our country,” Drew Fisher, president and CEO of RBC Convention Centre, wrote in an email statement.

The Joint Veterans Association organized the ceremony, which was held in a hall on the third floor of the north building. Centre staff prepared enough seating to accommodate more than 3,000 people, they said. Ultimately, around 2,000 attended.

For many, the day marked a return for the event, which had not happened in-person since 2019, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Others, like Master Warrant Officer Brent Schriner, attended for the first time.

“It’s an honour being able to be here for any Remembrance Day service,” he said. “Every veteran, every military (member) serving or past… they’re representing Canada.”

Schriner, who has 40 years of service with the Canadian Army, has never failed to honour his fellow veterans on Remembrance Day, including last year when he was stationed in Germany and pandemic restrictions prevented large gatherings. In lieu of a formal ceremony, he visited the gravesides of fallen soldiers to pay his respects, he said.

A trained medic, Schriner has seen two tours overseas — the first in Bosnia in 2003, and the second a 2006 deployment to Afghanistan. Both were fall tours, and despite being on the battlefield when Remembrance Day passed, he found time to honour the dead.

He has lived and lost friends abroad and at home — men and women who returned from war suffering wounds, not of the body, but of the heart and mind. Wounds that manifested as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide, he said.

“The number of those suffering or diagnosed with PTSD has far surpassed (the number) we lost in Afghanistan, he said. “Society can show its respect by things as simple as coming to a ceremony, taking time to reflect and saying thank you. Thank you to a vet,” Schriner said.

Friday’s ceremony spanned more than an hour-and-a-half, and included a series of prayers, hymns and moments of sombre reflection.

Following the minute of silence, uniformed veterans, cadets, police and political officials — including Premier Heather Stefanson, Lt.-Gov. Anita Neville, St. Boniface MP Dan Vandall, and Mayor Scott Gillingham — laid wreaths to honour the dead.

Stefanson did not speak during the ceremony, but released a statement earlier in the day.

“On behalf of all Manitobans, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to our military personnel and their families, for their commitment and dedication to a safer world and bright future for all. Thank you for your service,” she said.

According to the release, more than 118,000 Canadians have died and 2.3 million have served throughout Canada’s military history.

Other events in the city also marked Remembrance Day, including at Minto Armoury, Vimy Ridge Park and at several Royal Canadian Legion branches.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca