When a prosecutor in Saskatoon was told she could not wear a poppy in court because it might be seen as a “personal adornment,” it landed like a slap across the face of every Canadian who still believes in remembrance. Prosecutor Lana Morelli had simply wanted to wear the small red flower that honours those who fought, were wounded, and died to preserve our freedoms. Yet a court directive decided the poppy had become too “impartiality-threatening” for the bench..FARROW: Ottawa’s anti-church tax plan would punish the poor.That should trouble every Canadian who values both memory and meaning. The rule was not passed by government nor demanded by the public. It came from a bureaucratic view within the justice system that neutrality means visual sameness. .But impartiality is not threatened by decency. Respecting veterans is not a political act — it's a civic duty.Across the country, many Canadians share that view. .HORTON: Crossing the floor: One small step for an MP, one giant leap away from democracy?.Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston called a similar order in his province “disgusting.” Houston said that most Canadians feel the poppy is a symbol of remembrance and gratitude, not a partisan badge. Its meaning has remained unchanged since the Royal Canadian Legion adopted it in 1921. .It connects every generation that has lived free to those who gave that freedom shape.Saskatchewan even passed a law, the Remembrance Observance Act, protecting the right to wear a poppy at work. It affirms that for eleven days each November, citizens should be free to wear a poppy anywhere they want in Saskatchewan. .MacLEOD: Alberta’s long history of federal neglect demands action, not more negotiation.The only exceptions allowed are safety-related ones. Yet the courts have carved out their own island, claiming the need for absolute uniformity. They argue that no adornments should appear on judicial robes or courtroom attire — no matter how respectful or apolitical..This reasoning insults both history and common sense. The red poppy was never born out of political activism. It grew from war-torn soil in Flanders Fields as a symbol of life sprouting from death. .OLDCORN: Carney’s reckless spending budget unites a divided opposition.Soldiers didn’t die for political parties.They died for liberty itself. On November 11, Canadians stand in silence not for ideology but for sacrifice..For the justice system to say a poppy might undermine neutrality is to forget who made neutrality possible in the first place. The lawyers, clerks, staff, and judges who work in those courtrooms are able to do so precisely because Canadians in uniform defended a free society where courts can exist at all. Our legal system is supposed to serve the freedoms they bled for, not lecture citizens about how those freedoms look on a robe..WENZEL: Mark Carney’s economic reality check — Canada’s unravelling union with the US.Public backlash is already growing. The perception now is that judges are hiding behind technicalities to justify something tone deaf and un-Canadian. Even legal experts who favour strict courtroom rules recognize that the poppy sits in a unique category. .It is cultural heritage, not personal flair. There is nothing “political” about saying thank you to those who kept our democracy alive.This episode reveals a troubling drift inside some of Canada’s institutions. .McCOURT: Time to emulate King Ralph, Premier Smith!.Bureaucratic caution has started to replace moral clarity. Wearing a poppy was once something everyone agreed on — teachers, miners, ministers, even the media. Now the guardians of justice themselves need to be reminded why it matters..The courts often speak of “balancing public interest with legal principle.” Here, that balance has been lost. Canadians are not asking prosecutors to wear slogans or campaign buttons. .SLOBODIAN: Are Manitobans too gullible to tell Halloween pranks from deadly home invaders? NDP thinks so.They are asking that we not erase the quiet humility of remembrance from our public spaces. The uniformity of courtroom dress should never mean the uniformity of conscience..When a small red flower becomes controversial in a country built on remembrance, it says more about the fragility of our institutions than about the symbol itself. In the end, the poppy does not divide Canadians.It unites them. It binds us to a shared story of courage, one that should sit proudly in every courtroom, not be banished from it.
