Rucksack march raises funds to help veterans and first responders
With Remembrance Day less than a week away, a charity walk Sunday honoured the physical and mental aspects of what soldiers and first responders go through in the line of duty.
The fifth annual 22-kilometre Rucksack March for Remembrance at Rundle Park helps raise awareness and funds for Wounded Warriors Canada — a non-profit mental health provider for first responders, veterans and their families.
An organizer chose that distance and the weight each participant held in their backpack after learning of a 2015 study stating 22 U.S. veterans commit suicide daily.
"The mental struggle that people are going through, we kinda wanted to make that 22 kilos become like a metaphor, like a physical weight instead of a mental weight that you are carrying," said Ian Hall.
Hall, a current Edmonton firefighter who previously served in the Canadian Armed Forces, said the long walk allows for reflection and forces participants to talk, which is where the starting point for positive mental health starts.
"Your brain will start saying things like, do you need to keep going, do you need to keep walking," Hall added. "That voice, that we all have in the back of our heads, that we don't need to do this, we don't need to keep going, we don't need to continue the struggle."
"If we can prevent people from having occupation stress and post-traumatic stress issues, then obviously, we can decrease the suicides."
"Vets, military members, first responders have chosen to do a job, and they do a job for society," Hall said.
"This is another way to reflect on the unseen deaths from the work they do."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Unruly passenger' forces WestJet flight to make emergency landing in B.C.
A WestJet flight heading to Calgary had to make an emergency landing in northern B.C. Monday due to an incident involving an 'unruly passenger,' Mounties say.
'It's his vacation too': Jimmy the baby goat joins 2-week road trip across Canada
After Jimmy the baby goat was shunned by his mother, a New Brunswick man took the kid on a two-week road trip across Canada.
The double-level airplane seat is back. This time, there’s a first-class version
It’s the airplane seat design that launched a thousand memes and kickstarted a media storm. And now the double-level seat is back – only this time, with a twist.
Former South Dakota mayor charged with triple homicide
Three people were shot to death in a small South Dakota town, and a former law officer who once served as the town's mayor is charged in the killings.
New COVID-19 subvariants become the dominant strains in Canada
More than four years after COVID-19 effectively shut down the world, two new variants of COVID-19 have become the dominant strains of the novel coronavirus in Canada.
Debunking the 'anti-sunscreen' movement: Doctors say TikTok trend is dangerous
Dermatologists are sounding the alarm about misinformation from the anti-sunscreen movement, saying not wearing sunscreen can cause cancer and other problems.
Ont. university says professor fired over 'unethical' sexual relationships with students
An associate professor at McMaster University has been fired after its board of governors found that he engaged in 'unethical, inappropriate and in some instances exploitative' sexual relationships with students.
Richard Dreyfuss' comments about women, LGBTQ2S+ people and diversity lead venue to apologize
The actor Richard Dreyfuss showed up in a dress at a 'Jaws'-themed event in Massachusetts, where the blockbuster 1975 movie he starred in was shot, and then proceeded to make demeaning remarks about women, LGBTQ2S+ people and diversity.
Poilievre Conservatives offer to help Trudeau Liberals pass foreign interference bill
Pierre Poilievre's Conservative Party is offering to help Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government pass a piece of legislation aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada.