THUNDER BAY – The annual toast to Queen Elizabeth II took on heightened meaning on New Year’s Day.
Officers with the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment raised their glasses to Queen and country on Sunday, amid news the United Kingdom’s longest-serving monarch has been down and out with illness since just prior to Christmas.
The 90-year-old Queen missed the Boxing Day church service and was absent again on the first day of 2017 as she recuperates from a heavy cold.
“It’s usually very symbolic, in that sense, when we say we’re toasting to the health of the Queen,” said Lt. Col. David Ratz, the LSSR’s commanding officer, who presided over the annual New Year’s Day levee at the O’Kelly Armoury.
“She’s actually been sick for the last 11 days. She missed the Christmas Eve service and the New Year’s ceremony, which is very unusual for her majesty.”
Ratz said as commissioned officers of Canada, the Queen’s health is of utmost importance to members of Canada’s military.
“The Queen is the head of state of Canada, the head of the Commonwealth, so for us it’s a very symbolic part of our history and our past.”
The tradition of the annual levee dates back to 1646, when the governor of New France, Charles Huault de Montmagny, opened the doors at Chateau Saint-Louis to both civilian and military officials alike.
In addition to greeting his visitors, Montmagny also provided an update on significant affairs in the colony, a tradition which carries on to this day.
Ratz said in modern times it’s a culmination of the holiday season.
“We get together, give a toast and we’re actually going to have breakfast later on. It gets everybody to start off the new year on the right foot.”
Ratz said this year soldiers in the unit will be training for Arctic duty and to serve with NATO in Europe, but have to be ready at a moment’s notice to make their way to hot spots around the globe, even more relevant given heightened military tensions around the globe these days.
“We always train with the idea that some day we may have to deploy,” Ratz said. “When soldiers look at the news and see the tensions, we say, ‘Is that a spot we could potentially go to?’ I can’t comment on knowing where the next deployment will be, but certainly our soldiers here in Thunder Bay have that in the back of their minds.”
