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| - Forced indoors by the COVID-19 pandemic, ceremonies marking Canada's national holiday on Wednesday were mostly held virtually, as even the traditional fireworks were cancelled. Gone were the festive parades, open-air concerts and large gatherings held each year to celebrate Canada Day. Instead Canadian artists held online virtual events. Some Canadians did gather outdoors in places like Newcastle, New Brunswick, to watch drive-by parades that moved slowly in order to comply with social distancing regulations. The fireworks display that traditionally culminates a day of celebrations in Ottawa was replaced by a 3D show. Canadians were urged to turn their mobile phones to the sky at 10 pm local time to witness a three-minute display of artificial fireworks. "The augmented reality experience will give you the same visual and sound effects as a real fireworks display!" the government promised on the department of Canadian Heritage website. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau marked the occasion by visiting with his family a farm that supplies an Ottawa food bank. At the farm he donned a face mask and harvested broccoli. "The last few months have been hard and on this Canada Day, we need to continue to be there for each other," Trudeau said, speaking next to his wife in a video recorded at the farm. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate also made an online appearance, congratulating via video link a group of British Columbia health care workers for their pandemic work. Canada is a constitutional monarchy, and Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state. Not everyone however was in a celebratory mood. Demonstrations were scheduled for several Canadian cities to protest racism and discrimination against black people and indigenous people, part of a broader protest movement sparked by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed African American man killed by a white police officer in the United States. Trudeau made reference to discrimination during his brief presentation. "What makes Canada special is not that we know this is the best country in the world, but that we know it could be. We know that our work together is not yet done, not until every senior has a safe place to live, not while anyone faces racism or injustice, not while we still have so far to go on path of reconciliation," he said. The Canadian government also announced that five Canadian men were being honored -- one posthumously -- for their bravery in a January 2017 attack on a mosque in Quebec. The awards will be presented by the Governor General of Canada Julie Payette at a later date due to the coronavirus pandemic. ps/ch/st
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