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They are still regarded as the living icon of Remembrance Day. Each and every year we roll out the red carpet for the men and women of the Royal Canadian Legion and put them front and centre at all our Remembrance Day parades and commemorations.

It only seems right, as the Legion was founded in 1926as an advocacy group of veterans helping other veterans and their families. It was formed that year when a variety of veteran advocacy groups decided to merge their resources with the sole purpose of standing up as a single voice to ensure that government and society fulfilled its sacred commitment to veterans and that veterans and their families received the care that they need.

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What has happened to the Legion in recent years can only be described as a devolution of it founding principles. While it bravely continues to maintain its ceremonial façade, the real face of today’s Legion is an organization staffed increasingly by non-veterans. Because of this the Legion has lost touch with today’s veteran community and their needs. Rather than being a strong voice for modern veterans against government intransigence, today’s Legion is widely seen as a government lapdog preferring to pander and pose with politicians. In the meantime it largely flouts its legacy of respectability by serving as a local social club and drinking establishment. This is why most of today’s veterans, myself included, see no reason social or otherwise to join the Royal Canadian Legion.