Chamber
commons
Stage
1st Reading
Introduced
Oct 22, 2025
Progress
This bill designates October 22 each year as Peacetime Service and Sacrifice Memorial Day to honour Canadian Armed Forces members who died during peacetime.
Key Changes
- Designates October 22 as 'Peacetime Service and Sacrifice Memorial Day' across Canada every year
- Requires the Canadian national flag on the Peace Tower to be lowered to half-mast on October 22
- Creates a formal national occasion to remember Armed Forces members who died in peacetime on Canadian soil
- Explicitly acknowledges military suicides as part of the sacrifice being commemorated
Gotchas
- The bill does not create a statutory holiday, so there are no mandatory closures or paid days off for workers
- The flag half-mast requirement applies specifically to the Peace Tower, and it is not stated whether other federal buildings are included
- The bill includes military suicides in its scope, which broadens the definition of peacetime sacrifice beyond accidents or attacks
- No funding, programming, or ceremonies are mandated by the bill — it is purely symbolic and commemorative in nature
- The choice of October 22 commemorates Corporal Cirillo's death but falls two days after Warrant Officer Vincent's death on October 20, 2014, which is not the designated date
Who's Affected
- Canadian Armed Forces members and their families
- Veterans and veteran support organizations
- Federal government and Parliament (flag protocol obligations)
- General Canadian public (encouraged to observe the day)
Vibes
0 responses
Gotchas
- The bill does not create a statutory holiday, so there are no mandatory closures or paid days off for workers
- The flag half-mast requirement applies specifically to the Peace Tower, and it is not stated whether other federal buildings are included
- The bill includes military suicides in its scope, which broadens the definition of peacetime sacrifice beyond accidents or attacks
- No funding, programming, or ceremonies are mandated by the bill — it is purely symbolic and commemorative in nature
- The choice of October 22 commemorates Corporal Cirillo's death but falls two days after Warrant Officer Vincent's death on October 20, 2014, which is not the designated date
Summary
Bill C-252 creates a new national day of remembrance called 'Peacetime Service and Sacrifice Memorial Day,' observed every October 22. The date was chosen to mark the anniversary of the 2014 killing of Corporal Nathan Cirillo at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. The bill also requires the Canadian flag on the Peace Tower to be lowered to half-mast on that day. The bill is meant to recognize the roughly 2,000 Canadian Armed Forces members who have died in non-combat roles on Canadian soil since 1914, including those who died by suicide. Currently, Remembrance Day on November 11 focuses on those who died in wartime, leaving peacetime losses without a dedicated national commemoration. The bill was introduced by MP Mr. Johns as a Private Member's Bill in October 2025. It aims to broaden public awareness of the sacrifices made by military members outside of active combat, including those lost to accidents, attacks on home soil, and mental health crises.
Automatically generated from bill text using Claude
Vibes
0 responses