Edmonton police and the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service are treating a Waffen SS monument as a protected “war memorial” in their charges against journalist Duncan Kinney.
Kinney vehemently denies the allegations and is contesting the charges in court.
It is likely the first time a Canadian journalist has been charged with vandalizing a war memorial, as well as the first time anyone has been charged with vandalizing a memorial to Canada’s wartime enemies.
The charge – “mischief relating to war memorials” – which carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence, seems to have been intended to punish vandalism of cenotaphs and monuments dedicated to Canada’s war dead.