Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
A shift towards environmentally friendly materials and new digital engagement strategies are among new initiatives the Royal Canadian Legion is hoping will breathe fresh life into the 2022 national poppy campaign.
The annual push to honour fallen soldiers officially launched on Friday and is set to run until Remembrance Day, and organizers say they're hopeful the features introduced this year will help re-engage Canadians in the act of paying tribute to veterans both past and present.
The Legion has scaled back the number of traditional poppy boxes at locations across the country where people can donate cash and receive a poppy pin, rolling out just over 27,000 compared to around 34,000 in 2021. But the new campaign will feature the introduction of biodegradable poppies and wreaths made of natural materials such as paper, moss and bamboo.
It will also include "Poppy Stories," an initiative allowing people to scan a lapel poppy with their smartphone and be presented with information about real Canadian veterans, including anecdotes about their lives, their roles within the military, where they served and what their passions were.
"The various initiatives are a way to engage more Canadians from across generations, to engage younger people in the act of remembrance," said Nujma Bond, communications manager for the legion's national headquarters.
"We hope that when we modernize how we remember, and the materials we use to remember, it will also carry on the tradition of remembrance in Canada."
For the third year in a row, the organization will also have boxes that can accept payments from tap-enabled devices or cards. The legion said 1,000 such boxes will be in place this year, the same number as in 2021 when large swaths of the country were still operating under public health restrictions intended to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.
Canadians can also make a donation towards the campaign at mypoppy.ca, where they can create a digital poppy, add a customized commemoration to a veteran and share it on social media.
While there are still regional restrictions in place that will need to be heeded, fewer public health measures means more volunteers will be physically present at poppy boxes to engage with those passing by and encourage donations.
"It is a chance to share more stories, for people to meet veterans, to have positive conversations, to learn a little bit more about those who have served us," said Bond.
This year's supply of poppies will consist of both the traditional and environmentally friendly versions, the Legion said, noting it hopes to deplete old stock before switching exclusively to sustainable materials for future campaigns.
The organization doesn't have final figures for the amount raised from last year's campaign, but Bond said the legion typically raises close to $20 million from its poppy campaign on any given year to support veterans, their families and communities.
Brent Craig, veterans' service officer for the Legion's Westboro branch in west Ottawa, said those funds go directly into a range of programs that help veterans with a host of needs, including assisting with paperwork when applying for benefits from Veterans Affairs Canada or peer support programs.
"I've had the privilege of working with a number of veterans who help out with the poppy campaign and also come up to the box, and they've all been very appreciative of the fact that the poppy campaign exists," said Craig, whose father served in the Air Force and grandfather served in Europe during the Second World War.
Ronn Anderson, 78, served for more than 38 years in the Canadian Armed Forces, with stints in Europe as an artilleryman and as part of the Air Force. This is his 22nd year running the poppy campaign for the legion's St. James branch in Winnipeg, and he said he hopes to see spikes in volunteer numbers, public engagement and donation totals by the end of the campaign compared to the last two years.
He said the return of traditional poppy boxes is particularly welcome among veterans, adding he and his fellow former soldiers have more meaningful interactions with the public and receive more thanks for their service when they don their uniforms and volunteer for the campaign.
"That means a lot to me to be able to support these veterans that need our help," said Anderson. "Nobody likes to be in need, but through necessity, through circumstances, people do become in need and we're happy to help out our veterans with our poppy monies that we've earned."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2022.
This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
In March, Indonesian officials and local fishermen rescued 75 people from the overturned hull of a boat off the coast of Indonesia. Until now, little was known about why the boat capsized.
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
Canadian immigrants threatened by hostile regimes are urging parliamentarians to quickly pass the 'Countering Foreign Interference Act' so they can feel safe living in their adopted home.
A long-simmering feud between hip-hop superstars Drake and Kendrick Lamar reached a boiling point in recent days as the pair traded increasingly personal insults on a succession of diss tracks. Here’s a quick overview of what’s behind the ongoing beef.
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Whether passionate about Poirot or hungry for Holmes, Winnipeg mystery obsessives have had a local haunt for over 30 years in which to search out their latest page-turners.
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.