Last Post Fund Revises Eligibility for National Field of Honour

The Last Post Fund’s Board of Directors recently made changes to expand eligibility of those who can be buried at the National Field of Honour in Pointe-Claire, QC. Changes were made in order to be more inclusive to all those who served Canada.

“People who have served our country should have a place in our history and a place where they can be remembered and honoured. This is why, as the new Director of Communications at National Field of Honour in Pointe-Claire Que., I am very happy to announce an important development for our veterans and their families,” said Paul Delaney, director of communications, the National Field of Honour.

Traditionally, the National Field of Honour is for those Canadian Armed Forces, Allied and Canadian Merchant Navy members who died while on duty.

“Originally, we were serving veterans from the First World War, the Second World War and the Korean War and as time went by we realized that many other people had been excluded, by that I mean people who have served either as Regular Forces or even as Reservists, because there are people who have spent a large part of their military careers as Reservists and it was felt that these people also wore a uniform in the service of Canada. It was determined that anyone who had reached a level of basic military qualifications and had been honourably discharged should have the opportunity to be buried there,” added Delaney.

The National Field of Honour will now allow any Regular or Reserve Force member who completed Basic Military Qualification (BMQ) and was honourably discharged; participants in peacekeeping missions on behalf of Canada; allied veterans who have been residing in Canada for no less than ten years; and members of the Canadian police who have served in special duty areas or special operations.

The new eligibility rules also allow for the burial of up to four family members.

“Because things have changed, in the sense that people want to, more and more, go to their final resting place with their family members, spouses have been accepted since World War Two, but now people’s children (will be accepted). So, that if someone buys a lot at the National Field of Honour, they can make it a family lot. In other words, four additional members of the family could be buried there from the direct lineage, could be parents could be children,” explained Delaney.

The new changes are currently in effect.

The National Field of Honour is a National Historic site that was inaugurated in 1930 and is overseen by the Last Post Fund. Since its inauguration, more than 22,000 burials have taken place there.