Where to commemorate Remembrance Day in Nunavut

Nunavummiut will get a chance to remember this weekend at the territory’s two legion branches and in Cambridge Bay.

In Iqaluit, Remembrance Day ceremonies start with a moment of silence at the cadet hall, said John Graham, president of the city’s legion #168.

All community members are invited to the indoor event with dignitaries such as Nunavut’s Commissioner Eva Aariak, Nunavut Sen. Dennis Patterson and Nunavut MP Lori Idlout attending and laying wreaths, Graham said.

The ceremony is expected to take an hour. Legion Padre Chris Dow will speak and two cadets will read In Flanders Fields and Lawrence Binyon’s For the Fallen.

Doors open at 10:45 a.m. and the ceremony starts at 11:00 a.m.

The RCMP and Canadian Rangers are also holding a parade which will start at RCMP headquarters and end at the cadet hall in time for the ceremony, Graham said.

In Rankin Inlet, branch #169 of the Royal Canadian Legion will hold a ceremony at the old arena starting 10:45 a.m. Doors will open at 10:15 a.m, said Mark Wyatt, Rankin Inlet’s fire chief, on Facebook. 

Cambridge Bay intends to commemorate the day with a ceremony at the community hall hosted by the Cambridge Bay Cadet Corp, said organizer Michelle Buchan in a Facebook post.

Doors open at 10:30 a.m. and the ceremony will begin at 11 a.m.

In Ottawa, Gov. Gen. Mary Simon will attend ceremonies at Canada’s National War Memorial in Ottawa, starting at 11 a.m, her office said in a statement on Thursday.

This year is the 63rd anniversary of Iqaluit’s legion. When Graham was asked about the significance, he said it wasn’t important. What is important is remembering the 186,000 Canadian service members that have “paid the ultimate sacrifice” for their country since the First World War.