Halifax school asked military to ditch the uniforms for Remembrance Day

An simple schoolhouse successful Halifax — location to Canada’s largest military basal — is backing down connected a petition it made asking veterans and existent Canadian Armed Forces members who mightiness be the school’s Remembrance Day services to ditch their subject uniforms if they program to attend.

The November newsletter from the Sackville Heights Elementary School cautions the schoolhouse assemblage that, “We admit and observe the divers constitution of our schoolhouse community, and successful being responsive to our students, we warmly invitation immoderate work members who would similar to attend. To support a welcoming situation for all, we kindly petition that work members deterioration civilian clothing.”

The Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia, campaigning successful the midst of an predetermination successful that province, issued a connection Thursday evening condemning the petition that work members should not deterioration their uniforms connected Remembrance Day.

“In demanding that veterans and members of the Canadian Armed Forces not deterioration their uniforms portion observing Remembrance Day, the leaders astatine this schoolhouse are disgracing themselves portion demeaning the radical who support our country,” PC Leader and incumbent Premier Tim Houston said successful a statement.

“Seeing our work members successful their uniforms is an indispensable portion of Remembrance Day, it lets the remainder of america cognize who to personally convey for their service. I telephone connected Sackville Heights Elementary School to instantly reverse their shortsighted determination and invited Veterans and work members successful uniform,” Nova Scotia Liberal person Zach Churchill said successful a societal media post.

Late Thursday, aft campaigning politicians objected to the request,  a spokesperson for the Halifax Centre for Education, Lindsey Bunin, said successful an e-mailed connection that “the schoolhouse had reconsidered their approach” and that “past and contiguous work members … are invited to deterioration their uniforms.”

According to the authorities of Nova Scotia, the state is location to much than 40 per cent of Canada’s subject assets mostly astatine the country’s largest subject base, CFB Halifax, which is the office for Maritime Forces Atlantic. Other large subject installations see 12 Wing Shearwater successful Halifax and CFB Greenwood successful the Annapolis Valley. Many of those who service astatine those bases apt marque their location successful Sacvkille, a suburban assemblage northbound of Halifax.

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“The school’s volition was to guarantee that everyone taking portion successful the ceremonial could consciousness comfortable,” Bunin said. “Like astir [Halifax area] schools, Sackville Heights Elementary has a divers pupil population, immoderate of whom person travel from countries experiencing struggle and person expressed discomfort with images of war, which includes those of individuals successful subject uniforms.”

More to come…