Remembrance Day
Remembrance day is a solemn occasion where many across Canada take time out of their day to remember the brave people who sacrificed everything to give us the country we have today.
For my second radio pack for my introduction to radio class I went to the Remembrance Day ceremony in Burnaby. I haven’t been to a Remembrance Day ceremony in recent years so I felt like this year was a good time to go to pay my respects while also getting work done at the same time.
The sound of traditional bag pipes and trumpets were playing as I walked toward the Burnaby cenotaph. I never realized that the monument was there, even though I drove past it so often so I was surprised that I missed it due to it being out in the open on the corner of Nelson and Imperial.
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As I approached the ceremony, the crowd was much larger than I thought it was. As the music stopped, speakers stepped up to the podium to give their tributes. One of those tributes was a cadet who read an emotional speech on the young soldiers who gave their lives for this country. He choked up as he was reading, I felt his raw emotion as I recorded his piece.
I didn’t feel like it was right for me to interview people during the ceremony so I waited until after. I was able to get an interview with a father and daughter duo. The father was an immigrant and he spoke on what Remembrance Day meant to him, his daughter talked about why they go every to a ceremony every year. The father’s answer made me think about the controversy about Don Cherry’s comments and how wrong he was for saying those things about immigrants not being respectful about Remembrance Day. This pair just proved Cherry’s outrageous claims to be completely false.
Afterward, I saw Jagmeet Singh, the leader of Canada’s NDP, at the cenotaph posing for pictures with young kids and families. I felt like this was an opportunity that I didn’t want to miss so I went up to him and shook his hand. I was completely flustered, I didn’t know what to say. I have never met such a large political figure in my life, and he is such a major role model to me and my friends. I asked if I could ask him a question for my assignment, to which he gladly obliged. His answer was very thoughtful and I could not thank him enough for taking time to talk to me.
My finished assignment isn’t up by the time I post this blog, however, it will be soon! Hopefully it turns out well, so stay tuned!
