Bill C-252 Peacetime Service Memorial Day Act
C-252 An Act Respecting a National Day of Remembrance to Honour Canadian Armed Forces Members Who Have Lost Their Lives in Peacetime in Canada
Short Title: Peacetime Service and Sacrifice Memorial Day Act
Bill Type: Private Member’s Bill
Bill Sponsor: Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni)
Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, Corporal Nathan Cirillo, 2,000 peacetime deaths since 1914, 213 suicides between 2013 and 2024. The Bill names them and counts them. That matters.
Status: Introduced — October 22, 2025. This Bill hasn't passed yet.
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WHO GAINS POWER
- Canadian Armed Forces members who died in peacetime on Canadian soil gain formal national recognition
- Families of peacetime service members gain a dedicated day of remembrance separate from Remembrance Day
- Parliament gains a mechanism to lower the Peace Tower flag on October 22 each year
WHO LOSES POWER
- No power is removed from any person, institution or government body
WHO GAINS MONEY
- Nothing in this Bill allocates funding
WHO LOSES MONEY
- Nothing in this Bill allocates or removes funding
THE CATCH
- ⚠️ October 22 is not a statutory holiday — the Bill designates a day of remembrance but does not create a public holiday. No employer is required to observe it
- ⚠️ No funding or programming attached — the Bill lowers a flag and names a day. No ceremonies, no education programs and no commemoration funding are required or provided
- ⚠️ Suicide is included in the preamble but not defined in the Act — the 213 suicides between 2013 and 2024 are named in the preamble as part of the rationale, but the Act itself covers all peacetime deaths without distinguishing cause. The inclusion is meaningful but the policy response to suicide is left entirely unaddressed
- ⚠️ "Peacetime" and "on Canadian soil" are not defined — the Bill does not specify what qualifies as peacetime service or whether deaths during training exercises abroad are included