News

The outcome of the 2008 Royal Canadian Legion Dominion Curling Championships turned out to hinge on the luck of the draw.

When curlers and supporters gathered in the comfortable and bright Parkland Recreation Complex in Dauphin, Man., on the last day of play, everyone was looking forward to an afternoon tiebreaker.

Saskatchewan and Quebec were tied with records of five wins and one loss. Given performance over the previous three days of skip Rob Maclean, Danny Belliveau, Allan Jones, Greg Wilson and fifth John Burgess of Hudson, Que., Branch and skip Andrew Hay, Rick Middleton, Les Kun and Darren Clancy of Nutana […]

Throughout its 82 years of history, The Royal Canadian Legion has been well served by its courage and introspection. Indeed, many of the organization’s major public accomplishments owe their success to those attributes—qualities that have served to strengthen the importance of remembrance and bring much-needed assistance to Canada’s veterans and still-serving armed forces personnel. Today, those very same traits are being called upon again—this time to consider what is best for the Legion and its future.

At its February meeting, the Dominion Executive Council discussed the results of the first substantive structural review of the Legion since its inception in 1926 […]

Members of Dominion Executive Council were asked in February to put aside personal feelings, regional concerns as well as branch and command loyalties to consider what’s best for the Legion as a whole as they heard results of the first substantive structural review of The Royal Canadian Legion since its inception in 1926.

Resolutions were passed that—if ratified at dominion convention in June—would begin a restructuring that will affect every command and branch across the country.

“I cannot stress too much the importance of this study for the future of the Legion and the future of those who are serving in the […]

Ask what makes this place home, and easy smiles steal across the faces of the veterans enjoying a soft drink or brew at Happy Hour on one of the veterans’ units at Wascana Rehabilitation Centre (WRC) in Regina.

“What makes it home to me is the people around me,” says Fletcher Peterson. “It’s a wonderful bunch of people.”

One by one the men sharing the table chime in. For new resident Vic Lappa, it’s being able to continue his swim routine: 10 laps every Tuesday. For Vernon Kramer it’s the trips out for meals or entertainment. For 86-year-old Simon Hitcherick, who’s been […]

Life is hard in Afghanistan, a country which ranks among the very poorest in the world. While cities like Kabul and Kandahar are relatively modern with their paved streets and concrete buildings, many of the smaller cities and villages probably haven’t changed a great deal in the last 1,000 years—food is scarce, the buildings are often made of mud, and clothing is rudimentary at best.

Seeing these living conditions first-hand can be quite a shock for the Canadian soldiers deployed to Afghanistan and understandably many of them want to help in whatever way possible.

When Major Pierre Huet, a reconnaissance squadron commander […]

When one of Canada’s famed Snowbirds aerobatic team members died in a stunning plane crash last year, American veterans in Montana felt they could not overlook the tragedy in their own back yard.Captain Shawn McCaughey died May 18 while the team was practising for an air show at the Malmstrom Air Force Base, near Great Falls, Mont. While the accident made headlines in Canada and led to a temporary suspension of the Snowbirds regular air demonstration schedule, local veterans thought it was fitting that the Canadian pilot be honoured on their local memorial.“He was a brother,” said Sam Pappas, the […]

Veterans Affairs Canada has released a new hearing loss policy which recognizes that partial entitlement may be granted for a present-day hearing loss disability where the audiogram a veteran received upon his release from the military shows a lessening, but falls short of establishing an actual disabling hearing loss. Previously, veterans needed to have a disabling hearing loss upon discharge to qualify for benefits.

An applicant may be granted full entitlement if:

• He/she has established a disabling hearing loss which equates to a Decibel Sum Hearing Loss (DSHL) of 100 decibels or greater at frequencies of 500, 1,000, 2,000 and […]

In 2007 veterans and Canadians marked several important anniversaries. Fifty years after Canada became a country its troops found themselves at Vimy Ridge, where many say the nation was really born, and Canadian soldiers swept to victory where others could not. It was the first time that Canadian units served together as a Canadian formation.

If your image of a museum visit is shuffling between displays carefully preserved behind glass, you’re in for a surprise at the new Royal Canadian Mounted Police Heritage Centre in Regina.

It begins with the building itself, designed by Arthur Erickson, the architect whose work includes the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C., and much of Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C. The Tyndall stone, concrete and glass structure hugs the ground, but the grand sweep of the roof guides your eye to the spectacular blue of the Prairie sky.

Inside you’re greeted by a mural of a lone, mounted sentinel at the […]

Two new partners are great, but four new partners are even better. In our last issue, The Royal Canadian Legion (RCL) announced the inclusion of Diageo Canada Inc. and Philips Lifeline Canada into the revitalized RCL Member Benefits Package (Editorial, January/February). The Legion has done it again. This time the two newest partners are Medipac Travel Insurance and Relocation Services—two companies committed to supporting the Legion and its members.

Medipac has been in the travel insurance business since 1982. It is the company’s only business, and it has covered Canadian groups and associations since 1982. A phone call will put you […]