International Shia News Agency

torontosun: Push for early poppy sales following Ottawa shooting

SHAFAQNA (International Shia News Association)- A Toronto radio station is pushing for an early start to the Royal Canadian Legion’s poppy campaign following the shooting death of a soldier at Parliament Hill Wednesday.

On Indie 88’s morning show Thursday, hosts Brian Bailey, Matt Hart and Candice Knihnitski announced that in light of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo’s murder, poppies — sold to honour fallen soldiers and to support the Legion — ought to be made available sooner than its Oct. 31 sale date.

“We feel the poppy has taken on a whole new meaning, or it’s a new opportunity for anybody who wants to show their support to be able to do that now when it’s top of mind and everyone’s thinking about it,” Knihnitski said.

The hosts phoned several Legions without any luck and spoke with a staffer at the Command Office of Ontario.

“She said she had no comment, but did allude to the fact they might be working on that,” Knihnitski said.

The 88.1 FM indie rock station – or CIND – is hoping to spread the word of advanced sale of poppies through its social media pages.

“I feel like people can’t do anything (to grieve what happened at Parliament Hill),” Knihnitski said. “One thing they can do is show their support for the troops and show that they care and the most obvious and easiest way to do that is to wear a poppy ahead of Remembrance Day to think of (Sergeant-at-Arms) Kevin Vickers and Nathan Cirillo.”

Vickers shot and killed Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, the man behind the attack.

Ontario Lieutenant-Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell received the first poppy for Remembrance Day by the Royal Canadian Legion at Queen’s Park Wednesday morning around the same time news of the war memorial shooting began breaking out of Ottawa.

There are approximately 18 million poppies distributed in communities across Canada each year, according to the Governor General’s office.

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