Member of Parliament, Dan Mazier joined President Waine Mansell, 2nd Vice President John Mendrikis, and Treasurer Wayne Hopkins of the Minnedosa Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion to announce financial assistance from the federal government to help cope with pandemic challenges. The branch received $11,403 in support.

Mazier had been asking the government to meet the requests that legions and other veteran organizations across the country put forth after experiencing a devastating loss in income to cover their operating costs throughout Covid-19. Many legions have already closed their doors permanently and others risk following suit.

“Legions have always played an integral role in Canada, especially in our rural communities like Minnedosa. I can not thank the staff and volunteers enough who work with our Legions to continuously support and give back to their communities. Today’s announcement will assist in the future success of the Minnedosa Legion – something we are all looking forward to” said Mazier during a socially distanced announcement on December 26th.

Legion Vice President, John Mendrikis was pleased with the announcement stating, “The Minnedosa branch is a crucial part of our community in helping to serve our Veterans. This support will certainly reduce the financial burden that our branch was experiencing from such an extreme reduction in business income due to the pandemic.”

Mendrikis noted that the funds will assist in renovating the kitchen and replacing the club room furnace that were both long overdue for repair.

Although Mazier and his Conservative colleagues originally requested $30 million to support Legion branches across Canada, the federal government has only agreed to $14 million. “$30 million is a small price to pay to save an important Canadian institution, especially when you consider the price paid by those who served our country” stated Mazier. “We cannot allow our Legions, an institution that has been serving veterans and their families for almost 100 years, fade away because government funding came too late or not at all” added Mazier who said he will continue to fight for other legions in his constituency who were not granted funding despite extreme financial burdens.