For Canadians my age, hearing from veterans of World War II was a common occurrence at Remembrance Day ceremonies when we were school kids. I can vividly recall the veterans who spoke to my school assemblies over the years. But with the passage of time and the passing of many of our veterans, my children don’t get the same opportunities.
Rohmer is a true icon and his return to the ceremony, after a few years away, will be very meaningful to everyone in attendance. There will soon come a time, though, when we don’t get to hear from any soldiers who fought for our freedoms in World War II or in the Korean War.
It is obviously fitting to draw attention to our war heroes during Remembrance Day. But as we recognize our oldest veterans, let’s also take a moment to acknowledge the value of a program that involves much younger generations—the Canadian cadets.
The cadets are most visible to the general public in the days leading up to Remembrance Day, as they are the youth in uniforms who stand in front of the grocery and liquor stores selling poppies to raise funds for the Legion. But throughout the remainder of the year they do much more that is both good for them and good for the nation.
The mission statements on the program’s website would be appealing to parents who are frustrated with the state of education today and the values—or lack of values—kids are picking up these days.
“The Cadet Program provides opportunities for youth to gain valuable knowledge and skills that build confidence and help pave the way in a transition to adulthood,” the cadet website notes. “Cadets engage in varied and unique experiences, while developing competencies in leadership, citizenship, and physical and mental fitness.”
In addition to developing these soft skills, the cadets also learn sailing, kayaking, orienteering, flying, aerospace studies, and more. These are fun and practical activities for young people.
A CBC story from a few years ago, just prior to the pandemic, about the cadets program in British Columbia highlighted how enrolment was going through the roof in large part due to the Asian and South East Asian families who wanted their children enrolled in programs that had structure, imparted hard skills, and believed in firm values.
This is nothing to be scoffed at. In fact, it’s now an outlier to be cherished.
The public education systems these days—at least speaking for the school systems in the Greater Toronto Area that I have the most working familiarity with—are now rampant with political correctness, behavioural issues, and a lack of discipline.
Many school boards are a mess and kids are not being given the skills they need to succeed, whether it be academic excellence or important life skills. While many hard-working teachers still try their best, the education bureaucrats are failing our kids and in turn failing broader society.
No wonder people are looking elsewhere to instill values in their kids. And the benefit of the cadets programs is that they’re open to everyone and they’re free.
There’s been discussion in recent years in Canada over whether we should introduce some form of voluntary service for young people, military or otherwise. I’ve previously written about the merits of such a program, as a sort of extension of the mandatory volunteer hours already required in some provinces for high school graduation.
But regardless of whether such a service is introduced, the values held high by the cadets programs are the sorts of values people rightly complain that too many youth today are lacking.
In recent years, it’s become common around the time of Remembrance Day for patriotic Canadians to voice their concerns over how too few young people recognize the importance of standing up for our freedoms. Let’s hope we can soon turn that around.
