The Remembrance Day ceremony at the Victory Square cenotaph will take on extra meaning this year, after the National War Memorial in Ottawa was the scene of a tragedy that shook the nation Oct. 22.
Vancouver’s Nov. 11 ceremony will be Victory Square’s 90th anniversary. The monument was dedicated in April 1924.
“It’s our intention to proceed, at the same time we know local authorities are reviewing those plans,” said Cam Cathcart, chair of the Vancouver Remembrance Day Committee.
“Once that’s been done then we’ll look at what is concluded and we’ll proceed accordingly.”
The city’s biggest sporting event of the year, the 102nd Grey Cup at B.C. Place Stadium, happens the last Sunday of November. Grey Cup Festival general manager Jamie Pitblado was organizer of the Vancouver Sun Run in 2013 when it went ahead as-scheduled, the weekend after the bombing at the Boston Marathon.
“There was a lot of concern and we addressed that accordingly, did all the right checks and balances and had a successful and safe event,” Pitblado said. “We certainly expect the Grey Cup will be the same thing.
“Will this incur more costs? There’s probably a good chance that will happen, but part of the thing is about not necessarily overreacting.”
A bigger concern for Pitblado is selling the nearly 7,000 remaining tickets. He said he still forecasts a sellout by kickoff.
Members of Canada’s army, navy and air force traditionally participate in various elements of the Grey Cup, which is a major recruiting opportunity for the Canadian Forces.
“They’ll be involved in our parade, they’ll be involved in our arrival of the Grey Cup into the city, they’ll have an activation area, we have an obstacle course that they’re setting up for young fans to participate in,” Pitblado said. “They’re well entrenched with the Grey Cup festivities, as Canadians we all need to recognize the work they do to keep us safe.”
Thousands of Canadian Forces members were enlisted in 1990 to help organizers fill empty seats when nearly 47,000 attended that year’s Grey Cup, won by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The stadium’s biggest event since the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics will be the FIFA Women’s World Cup with seven match days, including the final, between June 8 and July 6, 2015.
National Organizing Committee chair Vic Montagliani said security plans may be affected by the Ottawa shooting.
“It’s something we review constantly, our budget is an organic thing and we’ll take everything into account with our security experts,” Montagliani said. “We obviously hope we don’t have to look at anything over and above what we’ve already planned for, but if we need to take any measures, we’ll take them.”
The overall budget for this year’s Under 20 Women’s World Cup and next year’s Women’s World Cup is $90 million, he said.
The Brazil 2014 World Cup had perimeter fencing at venues with airport-style screening for ticketholders.
“On a certain level it will be similar to what you see at other events, to the extent of metal detectors we’ll have to see when we get closer to the event as to the implementation of that kind of level,” Montagliani said. “If you walk into a Whitecaps’ game you have to open your bags, that’s pretty standard nowadays, but if we have to go over and above what is standard, we will do it if it’s required.”
Neither Public Safety Canada nor Sport Canada would comment on taxpayer contributions to securing the six-city tournament. Likewise for Vancouver city hall, whose spokesperson Tobin Postma said: “I imagine that they will request (Vancouver Police) assistance, but it will fall under the (local and national organizing committees’) budget.”
The provincial government provided $2 million to the tournament and, according to the Justice Ministry, the organization “has the flexibility to allocate those resources as it sees fit.” Provincial liquor inspectors will be part of the security equation.
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