A global pandemic could not stop Summerlanders from celebrating Canada Day on July 1, but the event in Memorial Park was not the same as in previous years.
Instead of a crowd of hundreds attending the festivities, only a few dignitaries and members of the Summerland branch of the Royal Canadian Legion were present for a short ceremony.
The event was recorded on video and the full ceremony can be viewed at the Summerland Legion’s website at summerlandlegion.com.
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“Canada Day is my favourite day of the year. It’s because we come together on what unites us,” said MP Dan Albas, who represents the federal riding of Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola.
“Canada is a great country. We have a rich history. We always do better when we come together, listen to our common interests, speak to each other in respectful terms and then plot out a destiny that is common, that we can all get behind and be proud of as Canadians.”
“It is a special day for so many of us,” said Dan Ashton MLA for the riding of Penticton.
“It’s an incredibly diverse country ethnically…. and that’s why so many people come to Canada. That’s why Canada has been so incredibly successful. We welcome everybody with open arms.
“I cannot express how proud I am to be Canadian in these difficult times,” said Summerland mayor Toni Boot.
“Not only are we, especially in British Columbia, coming forward as leading the world in how we are managing the pandemic we find ourselves in, but we’re also leading the way in reconciliation, not only with reconciling with First Nations people, but bringing some other issues of vulnerable people to the forward.”
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