(OTTAWA) The federal government is facing new demands to step up security around the National War Memorial following the release of new footage showing a person covering the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with a flag.
Posted yesterday at 5:56 p.m.
Photos and video of the incident streamed live online Sunday night show an individual bowing his head at the grave covered in US and Canadian flags.
The grave contains the remains of an unidentified Canadian soldier killed in the Battle of Vimy Ridge in the First World War. The monument symbolizes the sacrifices of all Canadians who served overseas in wartime.
While we still do not really understand the message that the individual in question hoped to convey, the Minister of Defense, Anita Anand, described the gesture as a “desecration” of the monument. An act that she describes as “unacceptable” and “shameful”.
“The right to protest is something those honored by the Grave sacrificed their lives for, but the desecration of this memorial is unacceptable and shameful,” she wrote in a post on Twitter.
Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay also condemned the gesture in a post on Twitter, saying he was “disappointed to see disrespectful and dishonorable behavior repeated at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier”.
“This sacred site deserves our utmost respect, honor and integrity,” he added.
Neither of the two ministers, however, mentioned an intention to increase the level of security at this place, which has become the center of attraction for demonstrators against health measures related to COVID-19 and against the Liberal government.
Repeated requests have been made to the government to better protect the site since the actions taken during the siege of the so-called “Freedom Convoy” last winter. A woman had been seen standing on the sarcophagus during the early days of the protest. This woman had been questioned by the Ottawa police, but had not been charged.
Following the gesture, authorities erected fences around the tomb and monument, but these were later removed by protesters, many of whom identified themselves as war veterans wanting to reclaim the grounds.
The memorial was also the scene of a recent protest involving James Topp, a Canadian Armed Forces reservist accused of speaking out against mandatory vaccinations while in uniform. He then led a four-month march between Vancouver and the federal capital.
Nujma Bond, spokesperson for the Royal Canadian Legion, says the incident perfectly illustrates why the organization has repeatedly called for increased security at the site.
“Unfortunately, it seems that these gestures are repeated with regularity,” she laments.
Youri Cormier, director general of the CAD Institute (Conference of Defense Associations), a think tank on defense issues, echoes the arguments of Mr.me Bond concerning the growth of the instrumentalization of the site to convey political messages.
“The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is not a place for chanting slogans and doing civil disobedience, it is a place of prayer, gratitude and introspection”, he insists.
“To display an American flag on the Canadian cenotaph is a deeply insulting act for a tourist to perform. This shows a great lack of judgment. We saw a lot of disrespectful gestures made at the cenotaph by the “Freedom Convoy” and its supporters, ”continued Mr. Cormier.
He added that the kind of incident seen on Sunday would never have been tolerated at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the United States. A place permanently guarded by a serving soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
Security on the site of the Canadian monument is the responsibility of the Ottawa Police Service (OPS), while the presence of members of the Canadian Armed Forces is only symbolic.
The Department of Defense directed our questions about Sunday’s incident to the OPS, which did not respond to our requests for comment on Monday.
Public Services and Procurement Canada says it is analyzing video footage of the incident, but has no intention of launching an investigation. The ministry nevertheless claims to want to “work in close collaboration with the police”.