The City of Delta, in partnership with the Tsawwassen and Ladner branches of the Royal Canadian Legion, is honouring local service members with street banners to be displayed in the weeks leading up to Remembrance Day.
Now until July 31, applications are open for the city's new "We Remember" Veteran Street Banner Program, which will commemorate local Canadian Armed Force veterans on banners that will be installed at Delta's main gateways and along its major road corridors, starting the second week of October.
Council unanimously approved the program's creation on Monday evening (June 10).
“Every November, we take the time to give our thanks and acknowledge the courage and sacrifice of those who served to protect our freedoms and our values,” Mayor George Harvie said in a press release Tuesday morning (June 11).
“By working with Delta‘s Legions on the Veteran Street Banner Program, we can extend our tribute to Delta’s veterans and further honour their service throughout the streets of our community in a visible and respectful manner.”
The public can nominate local veterans for free by filling out an application at letstalk.delta.ca/veteranbanners. The program is open to veterans who resided in Delta at the time of their birth, their military deployment, or their passing, and the city will be working with both local Legions to confirm candidates' service with the Canadian Armed Forces.
According to a staff report to council, the program could honour up to 50 veterans in the first year and an additional 50 in its second, though the initiative could be expanded in 2025 if interest is high. Should the program be "over prescribed," a draw or lottery will take place after the application period has closed to determine which veterans to honour.
Selected submissions will be featured on banners the veteran's image, name, deployment and years of service, alongside a poppy banner with the phrase “We Remember.” The two-banner sets will be mounted to streetlights throughout the city for two consecutive years during the designated five-week period.
After the second year, the program will be reassessed to confirm durability of banners, explore opportunities to increase banner numbers (if required), and determine whether any updates to design, placement or program guidelines are necessary to enhance community engagement and honour veterans effectively, the report notes.
The estimated initial cost to produce 50 veteran banners and 50 poppy banners for the first year, plus an additional 100 banners proposed for 2026, is $25,000, according to the report, to be funded from the city's Corporate Services Special Projects budget and the Special Events Budget connected to the Delta’s Remembrance Day ceremony at the North Delta Social Heart Plaza.
The yearly cost for installing and removing the veteran and poppy banners — estimated at $4,500 — will be covered through Engineering Operations' annual banner program.
