The Liberal Government is moving swiftly to implement our election commitment to crack down on war memorial vandals.
The vandalism of war memorials is abhorrent and unacceptable. Those who gave their lives in the service of our country deserve our deepest respect.
The Liberal Government has begun work on strengthen penalties to discourage such mindless vandalism. We believe that the police and our judicial system should have greater powers to deal with vandals who desecrate or damage war memorials to ensure that vandals take responsibility for the hurt and distress they cause.
Specifically, the new laws will create a new crime of "Desecration of a War Memorial" within the Criminal Code, with specific penalties including:
It is expected the enabling legislation will be presented to parliament prior to the winter recess.