Canadian Army corporal fined for stolen valour at Remembrance Day ceremony

A corporal in the Canadian Army has been fined $2,000 and given a severe reprimand for wearing service medals he didn't earn during a Remembrance Day ceremony in Alberta two years ago.

A corporal in the Canadian Army has been fined $2,000 and given a severe reprimand for wearing service medals he didn't earn during a Remembrance Day ceremony in Alberta two years ago.

Cpl. René Duguay pleaded guilty earlier this month to one count of conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline after he was seen wearing three medals on his uniform at the Cold Lake First Nations Remembrance Day ceremony in 2022.

Military judge Col. Nancy Isenor found that Duguay had not been awarded any medals in his nine years of military service, first with the army reserves and later with the regular force.

Shortly after the ceremony, military police questioned Duguay about his uniform and found he had no authority to wear the honours, which included two medals for service in southwest Asia and one medal recognizing service under exceptional circumstances, according to the judge's decision.

At the time of the offence, the army corporal was assigned to the 4 Mission Support Squadron in Cold Lake.

The unit provided a military impact statement to the court describing how Duguay's actions negatively affected the unit's morale and discipline.

"It speaks to his actions having not only dishonoured himself, but the sacrifices made by both veterans and serving CAF (Canadian Armed Forces) members," Isenor wrote in a summary of the statement.