Hundreds of Legionnaires from across the province along with some local dignitaries and the general public gathered at North Bay‘s Memorial Park Cenotaph Sunday morning for a wreath-laying ceremony.
The ceremony was followed by a moment of silence to remember their comrades who by sea, by land, and by air, laid down their lives for our freedoms.
From there participants formed a parade, marching from the cenotaph on First Avenue to the North Bay Museum on Ferguson Street.
The route was lined with people waving and cheering to the proud Legion members, with some members making their way pushing walkers.
Legion Branches of District H are hosting these delegates for the 52nd Biennial Convention of the Royal Canadian Legion, Ontario Provincial Command.
North Bay last hosted an Ontario Provincial Convention in June 1965.
President of Royal Canadian Legion Ontario Command, Garry Pond stated quite emphatically, ”We’re definitely happy to be back.”
Pond has a personal connection to North Bay.
“It was my first posting, I met and married my wife here and my daughter was born here,” he grinned with pride.
North Bay was selected as the venue for this convention by delegates attending the 2019 Convention in Niagara Falls.
“People have to bid on it and there is a vote taken at the convention, usually four years in advance, but what happened was we were in Niagara Falls in 2019 and they were looking for bids. I’m with District H with the Legion here and we decided to put a bid in,” explained Sherry Culling, Local Arrangements Committee Chair.
Marc Picard, Public Relations Coordinator and President of Callander Legion Branch 445 called hosting the event a “fantastic opportunity.”
“We won the vote after showing a fantastic video about North Bay and area.. All the Legion delegates at that conference thought it looked fantastic so they awarded us the right to host this conference. About 400 Legions in Ontario are taking part with over 500 delegates,” explained Picard.
Hosting an event of this magnitude is a major undertaking at the best of times, but no one could have ever anticipated plans being stalled due to a pandemic.
“There was a lot of extra work this time. Usually, we have two years to get prepared for everything but because of COVID we really didn’t know until late December that we would actually be having it this year. So it has been a big, big undertaking,” explained Culling in her capacity as Arrangement Committee chair.
Provincial President Pond said delegates were looking forward to spending time in North Bay, commending Legion branches for their hard work during these trying times.
“Legion Branches are now finally starting to get back to what we call the ‘new normal’ and we’re going to continue going with that for as long as it takes, I guess,” Pond commented.
“Branches have been incredible, volunteers have been incredible and they’ve all been working together already even before we asked them to, so we’re good to go.”
After a fun-filled weekend, it is now down to business which includes elections.
Pond is not running for another term.
“Normally a president will stay for one term and my term, in particular, has been three years rather than the normal two. So it is time for me to go.”
Reflecting on his presidency, Pond expressed gratitude for the resilience shown by the various branches as they maneuvered through uncharted waters.
“We have not lost one Branch due to COVID 19 which is extremely incredible. I am so proud of Legion Branches for the work they’ve done. It has been absolutely incredible,” said Pond.
The conference runs from May 14th to the 17th, and was kicked off Friday, May 13 with a flag-raising ceremony at North Bay City Hall followed by the reading of a proclamation by North Bay Mayor Al McDonald.
During their stay in North Bay, Delegates will be focusing on a number of key issues.
“The biggest issue we have is supporting veterans and how we’re going to continue with doing that. We have some fantastic programs in Ontario coming in. We have Operation Service Dog which is providing PTSD dogs for veterans who need them. And also, we have a program called “Leave the Streets Behind” which is for homeless veterans. We just passed a bitter-sweet milestone with just over one thousand veterans as of the end of March.”
The Legion website identifies Operation: Leave the Streets Behind as a program developed by the Royal Canadian Legion “to identify and assist homeless Veterans and those at-risk of homelessness.”
“So, helping veterans and getting them off the street. Helping veterans and their families is what the Legion is all about and what we’re here for,” Pond added.
The theme of this year’s convention is “Working Together.”
“Everything gets done when you work together. There is nothing that can’t be done if everyone pulls that oar a little bit harder,” Pond observed.
“That’s the whole theme and that’s what we’re striving for, to have every Branch, every member, and every Command right across Canada working together for our goal.”
Member recruitment is also something faced by most Legion Branches right across the country.
“That’s a tough one and new people coming into the Legion are few and far between,” Pond noted.
“We encourage people to come in. Any Canadian is able to join the Legion nowadays, you don’t have to have military service. And we’d be happy to have anybody join the Legion if you’re there for our goals and our goals of course are to support veterans and their families and promote remembrance.”
Pond was asked about the future of Royal Canadian Legion Branch 23 in North Bay which remains homeless.
“We are in contact with Branch 23 through the chain of command and I speak with the President from time to time. They are still looking for a home, they’re looking for a place to hold their meetings and I believe right now they haven’t been successful, but we’re hoping for the best for them and we’re here to help them if we can.”
The next convention will be held in London, Ontario in three years' time.
Organizers of the North Bay Convention are already receiving positive comments.
Randy Frewin, President of Wilson Branch 527, Toronto is one of those delegates who is enjoying his experience saying,
“I’m impressed. I’m really impressed. Yesterday I was at the university where it is being held and ‘Wow,’ I didn’t realize there were so many people involved in pulling this off. Everyone has been very welcoming. It is amazing. I find it very well organized and I found a few things that I’ve learned that I am going to take back to my branch.”
