Support troops theme causes social group to drop float from Canada Day parade

National Post (Canada) ^ | Saturday, July 01, 2006 | Dirk Meissner

[FreedomCalls]

VICTORIA (CP) - The annual Canada Day parade in the seaside community of Parksville will have one less float Saturday because a local group opposes what it calls the American-dominated military theme of this year's parade.

The decision by parade organizer, the Parksville and District Chamber of Commerce, to sell T-shirts with the message Support Our Troops has started an ideological war of words in this normally tranquil tourism and retirement community located about 150 kilometres northeast of Victoria.

The decision to sell T-shirts, for $10 each, was made to raise money to offset parade costs and send a message to Canadians serving in the military that people in Parksville were thinking about them on Canada Day, said chamber president Cheryl Dill on Tuesday.

But the Oceanside Coalition for Strong Communities says the T-shirts are an open endorsement of American military policy, which many Canadians do not support even though Canadian troops are stationed in Afghanistan.

The coalition had no choice but to pull its float - a puppet show popular with children - in protest from the Parksville parade, spokesman Rick Sullivan said.

"That phrase has become associated with the uncritical, unthinking, blind support of the American position in Afghanistan and Iraq," he said. "It isn't just a folksy saying any more. If they wanted us to be thinking of the troops, perhaps that's what the T-shirts should say."

[NorthOf45]

... and no blanket statements either. : )

As for the group's pulling of their float ... what a load.

[exg]

In a way, this is good news. The "offended" group pulled its float. The parade organisers did not give in and pull the t-shirts and beg forgiveness for offending this group--(which is probably what would happen in Toronto)--they stuck with the plan of selling the t-shirts with the "support our troops" logo---good for them!!!

[Heatseeker]

Here's the web site of the Parksville and District Chamber of Commerce. There's a page on the parade but I didn't see anything about online T-shirt sales which is too bad.