Northerners pack Remembrance Day ceremonies
Last Updated: Thursday, November 12, 2009 | 3:35 PM CT
CBC News
An air cadet bows his head during the Remembrance Day ceremony Wednesday in Iqaluit. (CBC)People in Canada's three territorial capitals filled gymnasiums and halls for Remembrance Day ceremonies on Wednesday morning.
In Iqaluit, residents of all ages squeezed into the Cadet Hall to pay tribute to Canadians who fought and died in past and current battles, from the First World War to the war in Afghanistan.
"These men and women uphold a noble Canadian tradition by taking an active role in bringing stability to parts of the world that have seen turmoil and upheaval," Peter Verkerk of the Royal Canadian Legion in Iqaluit said at Wednesday's ceremony.
In Yellowknife, about 1,000 people packed the gymnasium at St. Patrick High School to remember fallen soldiers and thank veterans.
And an overflow crowd packed the big hall at the Canada Games Centre in Whitehorse for that city's Remembrance Day ceremony.
The huge turnout in the Yukon capital has pleased event organizers, especially as they hear about ceremony attendances in other cities of similar size.
"Some of them only maybe have 20 or 30 people come out to their ceremonies, and when I tell them we have 1,600 to 1,800 people, they would look at us with shock," said David Laxton of the Whitehorse Legion.
"For the legion, it's a point of pride," he added. "We take it as a very personal thing, that the community supports us and the veterans. And that's what we're all about."
