People who vandalize war memorials should not be sent to jail, says Senator Roméo Dallaire. Dallaire is the retired Canadian general who led the UN peacekeeping mission during the 1994 Rwandan massacre. At the time, the UN failed to respond to his requests for reinforcements, and his inability to stop the genocide horrified him and eventually broke his spirit.
Several incidents of vandalism have prompted a Conservative member of Parliament to introduce a private member’s bill calling for a minimum fine of $1,000 for a first offence. A second would bring a minimum sentence of 14 days in jail. This is in keeping with the current government’s tough-on-crime agenda.
Don’t incarcerate, educate, says senator
Dallaire says he would much rather see vandals ordered to spend time with Canadian veterans and to listen to their stories. That, he believes, could turn teenage vandals into evangelists who would preach against defacing cenotaphs.
There are 6,700 monuments in Canada commemorating the service of soldiers in various wars.
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