A branch of the Royal Canadian Legion in Vaughan, Ont., that has been serving veterans for more than 75 years has been shut down because of an alleged association with “outlaw motorcycle groups.”
The decision from the legion’s national executive was delivered in a letter to members of the Woodbridge legion, also known as the MacKenzie branch, earlier this month.
The letter from provincial president Derek Moore said the charter of Branch 414 in Woodbridge had been “revoked” after police and internal investigations discovered the branch was “breaching” legion policy.
“It is with great sorrow that I inform you that the charter of the MacKenzie branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, Ontario Provincial Command has been revoked due to the branch’s overt association with outlaw motorcycle groups,“ the letter reads. ”The overt wearing of outlaw motorcycle club colours at Legion events and premises is contrary to the Legion’s Articles of Faith and disrespectful of the sacrifices made by our veterans.”
Ontario Provincial Command executive director Pamela Sweeny provided The Epoch Times with the letter sent to Woodbridge branch but declined comment on the matter.
The decision to shut down the legion was not one the executive took lightly, the letter said.
“We spent days, weeks and months gathering information and discussing the final decision on the MacKenzie branch and concluded that revocation was the only choice,” Mr. Moore wrote.
“We cannot permit the Legion’s name or events to be associated with organized crime. This was an unprecedented situation and one which I hope we never experience again.”
He said the branch building and its entire contents will be sold.
Profits from the sale will be donated to “veteran-centric and community programs and supports,” the letter said, adding that members displaced by the closure can choose to transfer to another branch.
The decision to close and sell the building comes five months after the branch’s charter was suspended in October 2023.
The letter did not offer specifics about which motorcycle gangs had allegedly become involved with the Woodbridge legion.
York Regional Police Sgt. Andy Pattenden declined to comment on the police investigation into the alleged biker infiltration.
“We work closely with all of our community partners and routinely address security and safety concerns,” he said. “York Regional Police was not involved in the decision to close the Royal Canadian Legion chapter in Woodbridge.”
This is not the first time the MacKenzie branch has made headlines. The former president and former treasurer of the branch were charged with fraud and possession of property obtained by crime last September.
More than $33,000 was stolen from the branch between 2017 and 2019, York Regional Police said in a press release at the time. The incident has not been linked to the suspected biker infiltration of the branch.
