Nearly every business and organization has struggled to stay afloat in some way since the COVID-19 pandemic hit Canada in March, the Royal Canadian Legion is no different.

Chad Wagner, the Provincial Executive Director of Saskatchewan’s Legions, said while in tough themselves, Saskatchewan actually has it better than some locations elsewhere in the country.

“Saskatchewan might be in a little bit better of a position, we do have a number of branches that don’t have facilities that they own, they rent out from other sources, the ones that are going to struggle are the ones that own a bigger facility and have lost revenues because they can’t rent out their halls and that sort of thing,” he said.

Wagner said about a dozen branches around Saskatchewan find themselves in that position.

He said on top of it all the most disheartening thing right now is that all the financial aid programs being offered by the Federal Government are ones Legions do not qualify for.

“There is a lot of businesses out there that need the help, and we’re one of those, but when we go to apply we find that we’re getting rejected more times than we’re getting accepted,” said Wagner.

The best situation, like for many struggling businesses, will be an economic bounce back.

“It’s no different than a local coffee shop or a local retailer, it’s going to take some time for the economy to bounce back, but as long as everyone focuses on shopping local and committing themselves to buying local I think Saskatchewan will be just fine and will bounce back, maybe even quicker than elsewhere,” Wagner said.

The best way to support your local Royal Canadian Legion is by purchasing a membership.