City council is being asked to approve a $5,000 grant to the Royal Canadian Legion – even though the Legion missed the application deadline.

Council is scheduled to vote on the request at its meeting this evening.

While members of council indicated they were reluctant to approve the request because of the missed deadline, they indicated their support for the grant, given the importance of the Legion’s contribution to Canada Day celebrations.

Whitehorse Legion president Joe Mewett appeared before council to explain the Legion has been co-ordinating Canada Day activities for the past 20 years.

The day is shared by residents of Whitehorse, and many visitors from local communities, he said.

Mewett said the day starts with a parade featuring veterans, RCMP officers, Canadian Rangers, first responders and many other organizations.

Following the parade, he said, all gather at Shipyards Park to raise the Canadian flag and sing O Canada.

The remainder of the day, Mewett continued, features entertainment that showcases Yukon talent mixed with local and cultural dancers, and a variety of food vendors bring a local and ethnic flair to the event.

“As you can see, we have quite a day planned,” he said. “A parade, 11 bands, food vendors, dancers and many other activities to keep the masses entertained as they celebrate Canada’s 156th birthday and Yukon’s 125th anniversary.”

Mewett said the Legion’s funding sources are quite limited.

The sources, he explained, are limited partially due to the fact the Legion is not a registered Yukon society but a national entity.

“Therefore, much funding that is offered within the territory for events such as this is outside our grasp,” he said.

Mewett said the Legion approached the city about missing the deadline and asked for a grace period – but was told that was not possible.

“Our committee decided to try and make it work; it would be tight but thought it would be possible until we realized the cost of doing business had gone up more than expected.

“We tried to cut corners to stay within our budget but soon realized that this was not possible,” Mewett added.

“It was decided to try and ask the city for $5,000 that it regularly grants, as our thought was that this should be a regularly recurring line item in the city’s yearly budget, but apparently it’s not.”

Mewett said the $5,000 would not completely cover the budget shortfall but would definitely lessen the impact.

The Legion created a committee called the Legion Canada Day committee, which for many years has successfully lookaed after all aspects of the event, he said.

For unknown reasons, he added, they missed the application deadline for the city grant. The city, he noted, also provides the Legion with $3,400 in in-kind services.

Coun. Dan Boyd said if the grant is approved, other community organizations should not take it as a signal that the city will entertain grant requests even if the deadline is missed.