Ottawa Remembers
Posted Nov 12, 2011 06:15:43 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA — As the last echoes of the Peace Tower bell drifted over downtown Ottawa, thousands stood in silence around the National War Memorial to remember the country’s war dead.
The silence began and ended with the boom of an artillery piece on Parliament Hill.
The national Remembrance Day ceremony was mirrored at hundreds of other local cenotaphs across the country and at ceremonies around the world.
The Governor General and Prime Minister Stephen Harper placed wreaths at the foot of the towering memorial on behalf of the country.
Patty Braun of Raymore, Saskatchewan, laid a wreath as the Silver Cross Mother, representing grieving parents.
Her son, Corporal David Braun, was killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan in 2006.
Other dignitaries, members of the diplomatic corps, service organizations and ordinary Canadians laid wreaths of remembrance.
The green and red wreaths lapped up the granite sides of the memorial as a party of gunners on Parliament Hill fired a slow, 21-gun salute.
Thousands of people watched from the surrounding sidewalks.
As the veterans marched past to the sound of military bands, waves of applause rolled through the crowd.
Canadian War Museum Programming for Remembrance Day
Admission is free at the museum Friday, November 11.
3 p.m. Silver Cross Medal lecture – Barney Danson Theatre
Suzanne Evans talks about the history of the Silver Cross Medal, a memento created in 1919 as a tribute to the mothers and wives of slain soldiers. A French presentation by Major Carl Gauthier will take place at 2 p.m.
4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The Van Doos in Afghanistan – Barney Danson Theatre
Two showings of a documentary by Claude Guilmain, produced by the National Film Board of Canada.
Other events throughout the day:
- Guided tours of the Museum and gallery animations, offering visitors a hands-on approach to remembering.
- Witness to History activities will allow visitors to meet veterans of the Canadian Forces and hear how their personal experiences affected who they are today.
- Wreath-making and season’s greetings Create a personalized poppy and send some cheer to Canadian Forces members.
- Devin Castilloux’s flag, with the signatures of more than 3,000 Canadian veterans of conflicts from the First World War to the war in Afghanistan, will be on display on LeBreton stage.
Remembrance Day schedule changes:
Ottawa City Hall and all seven Client Service Centres, including the Government Service Centres, will be closed on Remembrance Day. The City’s Provincial Offences Court, located at 100 Constellation Crescent, will also be closed on Remembrance Day. Business will resume as usual on Monday, November 14.
City-operated Child Care Centres will be closed on Remembrance Day. All branches, departments and services of the Ottawa Public Library will be closed on Remembrance Day.
OC Transpo will operate a regular weekday schedule on Friday, November 11. Service is free on November 11 for veterans wearing their uniform or medals, and for their companions. Buses will pull over to the side of the road (where it is safe to do so) to observe two minutes of silence at 11 a.m.
OC Transpo Sales and Information Centres will be closed November 11, with the exception of the Rideau Centre office, which will be open from 12:30 to 9 p.m.
Most programming at arts centres, archives, galleries, museums and theatres will not be offered on Remembrance Day, however, clients should check with ottawa.ca or their facility to confirm, as some exceptions may apply.
