Some families of soldiers serving in Afghanistan have been the target of prank calls. The caller has apparently informed loved ones that the soldier has either died or been injured while on duty. One Edmonton soldier opens up to CTV News saying the bogus news was delivered to his wife last November.
"She was very upset, my dad never cries... I never seen him cry in my whole life. She said he was in tears on the phone, he was pretty hurt by the whole thing," said the soldier who didn't want to be identified.
A handful of families in Quebec and three families in Western Canada have been victims of the same prank. The calls are usually made in the middle of the night.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay called the act both "deplorable and despicable:
"To put those families through that stress is just disgusting in every stretch of the word and I'll tell you if in fact we have sufficient evidence and working with local police if we can find those responsible, they will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law," said MacKay.
The Canadian military said families are never contacted by phone. And a team of counsellors are sent to help families deal with a death or injury.
The Edmonton soldier said his wife filed a complaint with the military deployment support group. But they haven't heard anything more. CTV News was told the files had been sent to police.
This soldier is now coming forward after hearing about the more recent prank calls in Quebec.
With files from Serena Mah
