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Following employee opposition, Air Canada has reversed course on an internal memo that prohibited staff from wearing Remembrance Day poppies while on duty.

On Monday morning a leaked memo issued by Renée Smith-Valade, Air Canada’s vice-president of in-flight service, told staff, “I strongly encourage anyone who wants to wear a poppy to observe and respect Remembrance Day to do so when not in uniform.”

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The memo added that Remembrance Day would instead be commemorated by Air Canada with an “onboard announcement” on its aircraft. According to some employees, managers quickly began instructing flight attendants to remove uniform poppies in compliance with the memo.

But a few hours later — after the memo had already generated employee and union pushback — a second note from Smith-Valade confirmed that following some reconsideration the “wearing of poppies is supported.”

“The In-Flight Service department at Air Canada has been clamping down on many small things on Flight Attendant’s uniforms, like nametags, lanyards, and more. All in the name of consistency. But Poppies? That’s really pushing the limit, in my opinion,” wrote Michel Cournoyer, president of the Air Canada component of CUPE, in an email to the National Post.