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LEST WE FORGET

We Remember

Historical Origins

When World War One ended, (or the Great War, as it was known at that time), an armistice agreement was signed between the Allies and Germany which took place in Paris, France, at 5:00 AM (Paris time), on Monday, November 11th, 1918. Upon signing this agreement, hostilities ceased at 11:00 AM.

Isaac Pedlow, a Liberal MP from South Renfrew, initiated a debate in the House of Commons on how this historic day should be honored. He introduced legislation providing for an annual Armistice Day in April 1919. Although, this bill was not debated, it attracted the attention of the press. Pedlow changed the bill and re-introduced it in the fall which finally was called for debate at the second reading on September 18th. The bill called for an annual holiday of Thanksgiving Day. The exact Thanksgiving Day date varied at that time at the government's discretion, and Pedlow proposed the second Monday in November each year, "as a perpetual memorial of the victorious conclusion of the recent war".

In Pedlow's speech, at the second reading, he cited the support from the business groups such as the federal and provincial Commercial Travellers', the Ontario Association Boards of Trade, and the Retail Merchants' Association of Canada. The business groups preferred an annual remembrance day holiday be held every year an a designated Monday in November, and nor specifically on the 11th, (as to minimize the inconvenience to businesses and employers). As all Members of the House agreed on the importance of setting aside a day to honor for Canada's war dead, they differed on the question of whether that day should be fixed as November 11th, regardless of the day of the week on which this fell every year, or whether, as Pedlow argued, the day should always be on a Monday, for the convenience of of the private sector. Eventually, a government Member successfully moved the six month'' "hoist" when the bill was reported from the committee, precluding any further discussion of the bill for at least six months. The House never resumed discussion on Pedlow's proposal.

The First Remembrance Day

On November 6th, 1919, Sir George Foster, the acting Prime Minister, rose in the House of Commons to read a message from King George V, addressed "to all the peoples of the Empire":

	To all  my people: Tuesday next, November 11th, is the first anniversary of the armistice which stayed the world-wide carnage of the four preceding years, and marked the victory of right and freedom. I believe that my people in every part of the Empire fervently wish to perpetuate the memory of that great deliverance and of those who laid down their lives to achieve it. To afford an opportunity for the universal expression of this feeling it is my desire and hope that at the hour when the  armistice came into force, the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, there may be for the brief space of two minutes a complete suspension of all our normal activities. During that time, except in the rare cases where this might be impractical, all work, all sound and all locomotion should cease, so that in perfect stillness the thoughts of every one may be concentrated on reverent remembrance of the glorious dead.

The King' wishes were duty observed throughout Canada. Across the country, at precisely 11:00 AM, local time, businesses, factories, offices, legislatures and even traffic came to a stop for two minutes of silence.

The Armistice Day Act, 1921

One of the last legislative initiatives of the Unionist government led by Prime Minister Arthur Meighen before its defeat in the 1921 election was to introduce legislation formally establishing an Armistice Day as a legal holiday. Section 2 of The Armistice Day Act, 1921 provided that every year, the Monday in the week during which November 11th occurred, "being the day in 1918 in which the Great War was triumphantly concluded by an armistice," should be kept as a legal holiday under the name of Armistice Day. The minister in charge of the bill indicated that in drafting the Act, the government had been influenced by MP Pedlow's 1919 initiative. This was evident in the statute's treatment of Thanksgiving. Section 3 of the Act provided that Thanksgiving should be observed on Armistice Day.

The 1931 Amendment

For 10 years, Canada honored Armistice Day as well as Thanksgiving Day under the terms of the 1921 Act. Parliament finally severed the connection between the two days on March 18th, in 1931. An independent MP, A. W. Neill, from British Columbia, introduced The Armistice Day Amendment Act. This bill repealed ss. 2 and 3 of the 1921 Act, and substituted for them a clause which fixed November 11th as Armistice Day. This had the effect of returning Thanksgiving Day to its pre-1921 status, whereby the cabinet could set its date whenever it chose.

Neill made it clear that his bill responded to the wishes of Canadian veterans, as manifested in resolutions he he had received from the Canadian Legion (now the Royal Canadian Legion). He noted that in practice, Armistice Day was celebrated on November 11th especially by veterans' groups, whatever the strict terms of the 1921 Act. The Member dismissed the impact his bill might have on the private sector as irrelevant:

This matter is solely and entirely the concern of the returned men and we as a governing body ought to respect their wishes. It has nothing to do with what other people want, and the soldiers should surely have the right to decide.