Toronto ceremonies honour veterans ahead of Remembrance Day

This ceremony in Toronto's Spirit Gardens recognizes Indigenous Veterans Day, honouring the service, sacrifice and contributions of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples to Canada's military history. Which is a really important day because it celebrates our Indigenous military warriors, but we're moving into a new territory. Where our Indigenous leadership is going to shine. That's what we need. We need good people to get up and speak and communicate about our culture and our history. The event acknowledges the significant role Indigenous people played in Canada's war efforts, serving with distinction despite facing systemic barriers and discrimination. It's estimated that more than 12,000 Indigenous people served in the Canadian Armed Forces during the 20th century, and many continue to serve today. I'm here specifically for my father in remembrance of him, Leonard J. Brooks. He fought in the Korean War when he was 17. 16 or 17, he ran away from residential school, which was horrific for him. So he thought it was better to fight in the war for Canada and stand up for his people in a good way instead of taking the abuse that he took in school. So I wanted their voices heard. This weekend was also the Remembrance Day Memorial and wreath-laying ceremony organized by the Ukrainian-Canadian Congress and the Association of Ukrainian-Canadian Veterans. The event commemorated the sacrifices of Canadian and Ukrainian soldiers And also acknowledge those who are currently serving in the ongoing war in Ukraine. We do it jointly for both sets of veterans, both Ukrainian and Canadian, because it's such a deep tradition in our nation to have fought for freedom. In fact, in Canada's World War II, over 35,000 Ukrainian Canadians volunteered to serve with Canada. So it's been an amazing legacy of serving the country, and we want to pay homage to all those people. CBC's Remembrance Day special begins at 10 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, live from the National War Memorial in Ottawa. Talia Ricci, CBC News, Toronto.