The annual pre-Remembrance Day Poppy controversy has begun - with a crosswalk

[Blackadder1916]

One of the signs of autumn is an inevitable objection by the RCL about unauthorized use of the poppy. This year the culprit is the City of Chestermere, Alberta who repainted a crosswalk.

Poppy crosswalk in Chestermere, Alta. unveiled at official event

A controversial tribute to Canada's veterans went ahead in Chestemere Sunday, despite some debate over the local initiative.

calgary.ctvnews.ca

CALGARY - A controversial tribute to Canada's veterans went ahead in Chestermere Sunday, despite some debate over the local initiative.
A series of poppies were painted on a crosswalk at Anniversary Park, home of the city's cenotaph, this week.

But the homage was met with some pushback from the national office of the Royal Canadian Legion, which was concerned with crossing feet and tires over the national image.

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[Fishbone Jones]

If the RCL limited themselves to just the poppy, they might have a point. However, one only needs to look at all the poppy style commercialized, costume jewellery, coffee cups, etc that the legion now sells to see how they are 'safe guarding' the image. The only poppy image they have custody of is the iconic 4 petal poppy, pictured here. One of the reasons they have control is because the resulting donations all went to the Poppy Fund, which was set up to help Veterans. The fund is now used for team jerseys and a myriad of other things not related to Veterans. Any other poppy image, and there's lots, are beyond their purview and can be used by anyone.