“Memoriam, Eorum, Retinebimus” are the phrases on The Royal Canadian Legion’s emblem.
It’s a written promise in Latin to those that served our nation. Translated into English, it means, “we’ll keep in mind them.”
However for some legions throughout the nation, COVID-19 is threatening that promise.
READ MORE: COVID-19 closures leave New Brunswick legions in dire straits
“Nationally, 124 of our 1,381 branches throughout the nation, so nearly one in 10, are going through imminent closure,” stated The Royal Canadian Legion’s communications supervisor, Nujma Bond.
It appears that evidently having to pay payments for nearly three months with no earnings has taken its toll some Canadian legion branches.
“Past that quantity, one other 357 of them are in monetary issue,” Bond stated.
However regardless of the dire monetary conditions that some Legions discover themselves in, there’s emergency funding accessible for them by way of the Canada Emergency Enterprise Account.
“You rise up to $40,000 and you’ve got, I consider, two years to pay it again,” stated Anne Fox, president of Legion department 288 in West Kelowna.
“And should you do this, you get $10,000 free, so that you solely need to pay again $30,000,” Fox added.
With out the Canada Emergency Enterprise Account or CEBA mortgage, Fox says the West Kelowna Legion’s monetary actuality can be drastically totally different.
“We might be operating on empty making an attempt to determine the best way to pay our payments,” stated Fox.
“It may have devastated us,” stated Jean Saul, president of department 69 in Peachland.
“We did have cash within the financial institution however we did apply for the CEBA,” Saul stated.
The mortgage stopped the department from having to empty their checking account to pay ongoing payments.
“When you begin dipping into that, it’s a continuing dip and should you preserve dipping, then earlier than you recognize it, you’re accomplished,” Saul stated.
In Kelowna, the 700-member sturdy department 26 was truly capable of climate the affect of COVID-19 with out accessing emergency funding.
Nonetheless, based on president John Sokolowski, department 26 will face monetary issues
“If certainly the following wave of COVID comes alongside within the fall, that might be an actual problem,” Sokolowski informed World Information Monday.
For his or her half, The Royal Canadian Legion has requested the federal authorities for extra quick monetary reduction.
Bond stated she is hopeful that one thing is within the works with Veterans Affairs.
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