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Royal Canadian Legion revokes membership of individuals for Stolen Valour

Legion issues lifetime membership ban due to Stolen Valour for the first time

OTTAWA, Jan. 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Royal Canadian Legion, in an unprecedented move has revoked the membership of two members found to have engaged in “Stolen Valour.”

“The Legion takes the issue of Stolen Valour very seriously,” says Dominion President Thomas D. Irvine, CD.   “Anyone who makes illegitimate claims of service or sacrifice degrades the honour of those who have served and brings tremendous discredit upon this organization. I cannot stand by to see the good name and deeds of the Legion tarnished by such discreditable conduct.”

The lifetime membership ban of one member in Ontario and another in British Columbia came over the weekend, after inquiries into each case ended. The Legion investigated allegations regarding the members’ military service and the wearing of medals they had allegedly not earned. Mr. Irvine shared his decision with the Legion’s Dominion Executive Council after outlining the steps he had taken before reaching his landmark decision, in accordance with the Legion’s General By-Laws.

“I provided each individual an opportunity to rebut the alleged evidence of their unfounded service claims and wearing of unearned medals; their submissions were without merit,” he explains. Expulsion from the Legion can come after the Legion’s own complaint process, or its Dominion President can revoke membership after inquiry and for cause.

In addition, The Royal Canadian Legion has just passed a new by-law amendment stating that anyone convicted under section 419 of the Criminal Code of Canada will be automatically expelled from the Legion. 

Upon being elected to the role of Dominion President in 2018, Irvine had expressed his plans to take a strong stance against Stolen Valour as part of his mandate. The Legion believes Stolen Valour is stolen service.

Read more here from Legion.ca: Stolen Valour background

About The Royal Canadian Legion
Founded in 1925, the Legion is Canada’s largest Veteran support and community service organization. We are a non-profit organization with a national reach across Canada as well as branches in the U.S., Europe and Mexico. With close to 260,000 members, many of whom volunteer an extraordinary amount of time to their branches, our strength is in our numbers.

Public Relations / Media Inquiries: 613-591-3335 ext. 241 or PublicRelations@Legion.ca
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