Police say they have identified two Ottawa youths and a 23-year-old man from outside the city as the trio photographed urinating on the National War Memorial after a Canada Day fireworks display.

No names have been released, partly because charges have yet to be laid, Const. Steven Desjourdy told CBC Online.

Ottawa police say they have identified this man, photographed urinating on the War Memorial.
(Ottawa Police)

In addition, the youngsters' names are being withheld because of their ages, although their pictures have already been published and broadcast across Canada.  

The Youth Criminal Justice Act prohibits publication of the names or photographs of accused persons under 18 in most circumstances.

The Canada Day images prompted outrage across the country and were posted on an Ottawa police website in hopes that someone would recognize the culprits and turn them in.

Police issued two statements in quick succession on Wednesday afternoon, the first saying that the youths had been identified and the second saying the man had been identified.

MP calls for new punishments

Meanwhile, an Ottawa MP is calling for changes to the Criminal Code that would lead to harsh punishments for people who defile war monuments.

David McGuinty spoke out Tuesday after the incident became a focus of anger among veterans.

The three could face charges under the Criminal Code, National Capital Commission rules or city bylaws.

But McGuinty, the Liberal member for Ottawa South, wants Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Justice Minister Vic Toews to create a new criminal offence that would specifically prohibit "mischief, vandalism or destruction" of Canada's war memorials. Fines should be substantial and penalties should include imprisonment, McGuinty said.

The incident has renewed calls by veterans groups for better security at the memorial, located near Parliament Hill. It honours the country's war dead and holds the remains of the Unknown Soldier, returned to Canada from France in 2000.

McGuinty backed the call for permanent guards at the site.

"Most countries for years now have had honour guards posted at their tombs of the Unknown Soldier, and I thought we should be doing the same," McGuinty said.

On Tuesday, an unemployed Ottawa man decided to take on the job himself. Dressed in red and holding a Royal Canadian Legion flag, Don Dawson spent hours in front of the memorial.

Like many Canadians, Dawson said, he was disgusted by the pictures.

'I was enraged'

"I was enraged. I was just infuriated," he said. "But after that subsided, I started to feel pretty bad. I felt pretty horrible about the whole thing. So I thought, what can I do?"

Still, he said he would like to see a real sentry on duty.

"Why can't we have one foot guard, standing here during the day for a couple hours to say: 'I remember you. Lest we forget.'"

The furor started when Michael Pilon, a retired major in the Canadian Forces, snapped photographs of the three young men about 11 p.m. on July 1 after a fireworks display had ended.