Canada’s heroes from 100 years ago will take centre stage this year when they're commemorated for the centenary of the First World War.
Centretown’s museums and galleries are hosting handfuls of exhibitions to honour the event, a few of which have been featured in previous issues of this newspaper.
The Canadian War Museum is expanding its exhibits for the occasion. The war museum, as well as the Bytown Museum are opening exhibits featuring ordinary citizens during the war.
The exhibits are just one part of a six-year plan by the federal government to memorialize the First World War centenary, the 75th anniversary of the Second World War, as well as Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele and other major war milestones.
The overload of exhibits seem to be a part of something more, a trend of trying to create a feeling of nationalism and patriotism towards the country’s military efforts.
Ironically, while the Canadian government is spending money to commemorate the First and Second World War soldiers, they are forgetting about veterans that are alive today. Eight Veterans Affairs offices closed this year, leaving many veterans from Canada’s past war efforts feel forgotten and left behind.
This raises the question of how Canada as a nation can spend so much time remembering those who are gone, when it lets those who are still here to slip right through the cracks?
The office closures mean that many veterans will have to commute much further to get in-person services. For example, the veterans who were using the closed Windsor office will have to travel to the London office to get the help they need.
Ron Clark who served 36 years in the military, said at a press conference in January that “they’ve taken everything away from us, and this is the thanks we get back.”
Veterans Affairs has said it plans to make services readily available online, but that’s not good enough for many veterans. There are 118,000 veterans from the Second World War and Korean War will not be able to benefit from this, because many don’t know how to use the internet or even have computers in their home.
As well, government representatives did not even treat veterans with basic respect when they protested the office closures. When Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino met with a representative group of veterans, they called his behaviour “shameful.” Fantino showed up 70 minutes late for his meeting with them and walked out when question got too difficult.
There have been 10 suicides from people in the Canadian Forces since November. Only eight per cent of soldiers return from combat with PTSD, says Operation Stress Injury Social Support, a support program provided by Veterans Affairs.
It is when people who have returned home are unable to deal with the emotions and avoid addressing or talking out trauma do they develop PTSD.
For almost a decade, the Canadian government has been promising to bump the staff at OSISS to 450 people, but the number has remained at 380.
The galleries and exhibits in national museums in Ottawa commissioned by the government promote pride and respect for those involved in Canada’s wars.
How can the Canadian government justify and promote itself as respecting the lives lost and the battles fought in the past, when it can’t even respect those alive right now?