Decision to move Halifax Remembrance Day ceremony gets mixed reaction

Allan DeYoung has served in Canada’s military overseas.

He now lives here in a homeless encampment in Dartmouth, N.S.

When told Halifax’s Grand Parade Remembrance Day ceremony will moved, DeYoung said, “Well, they have a Remembrance Day thing over at Sullivan’s Pond, do they not?”

He is right. The Halifax ceremony will shift to the cenotaph in Dartmouth.

Because of the homeless encampment in downtown Halifax, DeYoung says this was the right decision.

“What are you going to do? Pack them all up, move them for a day, and let them come back?”

Veterans Emergency Transition Services Canada CEO Jim Lowther understands why some people would be angry about this decision, but he is more concerned about finding housing for the homeless.

“As veterans, as military personnel, we did serve for everyone,” said Lowther. “And those folks do not have homes right now.”

According to Lowther, this is an opportunity to further remind people that the housing crisis is not getting any better.

Halifax resident Don Edwards disagrees with the decision to move the ceremony.

“I don’t think it should be relocated,” said Edwards, who fears the Sullivan’s Pond venue could be too small, and not easy to get to for seniors and veterans.

“Dartmouth is not around the corner from Halifax,” said Edwards. “People are going to have to come over the bridge, and where is everybody going to park?”

The decision to move the ceremony came from the legion, in consultation with the city.

"The role the municipality has played for Remembrance Day ceremonies, just as we have every year, is providing the event space booking,” said HRM spokesperson Ryan Nearing, who added, all Nov. 11 programming, which includes location selection, is done by the local legion.

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