This is Very Sad

Poppy seller tossed from Quebec store; Supermarket blames space shortage

Les Perreaux, from the St. Catharines Standard

Thursday, November 02, 2006 - 01:00

National - A supermarket tossed a 76-year-old war veteran from his post selling poppies Wednesday in a scene that has nearly become a Remembrance Day tradition in Quebec.

Tom Mullin, a Korean War veteran who lost his brother Frankie in the war, was told there was no longer room for the tiny table at the Provigo store in southwestern Montreal where he's sold poppies for five years.

A store manager, who said he was not authorized to talk to journalists, would only say there was a space shortage, even though Mullin sold poppies at the store for several days and veterans have been Remembrance Day fixtures at the location for more than 25 years.

Mullin, who is reluctant to cause trouble for the local supermarket, admitted store renovations had left him with only a tiny space wedged between shopping carts and leftover Halloween candy.

"They did change over the layout, so it's not as good as it was," Mullin said in an interview. "I'm not an expert on the little knicks and knacks of where a store could put us, but it is the guy's business."

Provigo spokeswoman Josee Bedard said the company, a member of the Loblaw Group, supports the legion and encourages local store managers to help out in any way they can.

She said the store agreed to allow the legion to sell poppies last Thursday. When Mullin and other veterans returned five days running, a manager finally told Mullin they had probably hit most of their customers.

"I think there is a misunderstanding," Bedard said. "But from one store to another, they have to decide how many days they'll allow fundraising based on demand, traffic and how much space is available. But I want to stress, this is a cause we support."

Stan Kircoff, the legion's poppy manager in the working-class borough of Verdun, said the Provigo outlet was initially reluctant to allow poppy sales this year, but managers seemed to warm up to the idea. "Then, it was take your table and go home," Kircoff said.

Mullin said he hopes a deal can be worked out, but "if we can't, let it be."

Other veterans and Royal Canadian Legion members were more critical. "It pisses you off," said Ross Neil, president of the Verdun legion branch. "These guys don't realize what the sacrifices were. If it wasn't for that, they wouldn't have what they have today."

Earlier this week, a Regina shopping centre briefly barred poppy sales but that was due to a misunderstanding, mall management said.

In recent years, a series of businesses including Ikea, CIBC and National Bank locations initially refused to allow the sale of poppies in the Montreal area before caving in to pressure from the legion.

Last year, the legion had difficulty getting permission to sell poppies in a major federal office complex in Montreal. "It does seem to be a more frequent happening," said Neil.

In the beer hall in the basement of the Verdun legion, opinions were split on the cause of the problem the veterans have repeatedly faced in recent years, particularly in Quebec. Some believe it's tied to Quebec nationalist politics, where pro-independence activists have traditionally had little use for the military.

Others say it's just a new generation that has no idea hundreds of thousands of Quebecers fought in both world wars.