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Courtenay Mayor Bob Wells’s Remembrance Day address

Remembrance Day 2020 will be like no other in living memory. Normally, crowds of people gather at Jubilee Square in downtown Courtenay in honour of the fallen and all those who have served Canada overseas and at home. This year, as we all do our part to prevent the spread of COVID-19, a large community gathering isn’t possible.
Black Press Media
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Comox Valley RCMP Insp. Mike Kurvers (left), Courtenay Mayor Bob Wells (second from left) and members of the Courtenay Legion unveiled a new commemorative sign at Veterans Memorial Parkway, Thursday near Art Knapp. A second sign has been installed across from Valley Vista Estates near Mission Road. Scott Stanfield photo

Remembrance Day 2020 will be like no other in living memory. Normally, crowds of people gather at Jubilee Square in downtown Courtenay in honour of the fallen and all those who have served Canada overseas and at home. This year, as we all do our part to prevent the spread of COVID-19, a large community gathering isn’t possible.

Consider the sacrifices made by generations before us, including scores of men and women who lost their lives defending the freedoms we enjoy today. What is being asked of us now – to follow public health guidelines for wearing masks, limiting social gatherings, and maintaining physical distance from people outside our households – pales in comparison.

Instead of parades, this year we will be honouring our veterans in different ways, including live-streamed local ceremonies. Wherever we may be on November 11, we can all take a moment at the 11th hour to reflect on those we have lost. And as we remember the fallen in this new way, safely and from a distance, we cherish the living by keeping them safe.