Mr. Speaker, residents of the city of Airdrie, including myself, were disgusted this week to learn that vandals had desecrated a cenotaph dedicated to the memory of our war veterans.
A concrete cross that sat atop the memorial was found broken and in pieces on the ground. The RCMP said a lot of force would have been needed to cause such damage, marking this as a deliberate and targeted act.
This senseless damage done by cowardly individuals dishonours the memory of the brave men and women whose sacrifice made possible our present-day rights and freedoms.
This desecration has inflicted pain and sadness on our entire community, our veterans and our soldiers still serving. I know that my fellow citizens of Airdrie share my tremendous respect for our veterans' valour and sacrifice and they are outraged by this terrible vandalism in our community.
I ask members of this House to join with the citizens of Airdrie today in strongly condemning this shameful act of vandalism and disrespect.