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PEMBROKE — Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke MP Cheryl Gallant has issued an apology for including a photo of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo in a recent fundraising email.

In a short emailed statement, Gallant acknowledged that “earlier this week, a fundraising email in my name from my Electoral District Association raised attention.”

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The fundraising email, sent out on Wednesday, March 2, included a photo of the Cirillo, who was gunned down at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on Oct. 22, 2014, and four convicted terrorists, all of whom were Canadian nationals, and a lengthy diatribe against the Liberal government conflating extremism, immigration reform and refugee screening.

Neither Cirillo nor the terrorists were identified by name in the email, which offered constituents an Easter ham in exchange for a donation to the riding association.

The promotion made waves after by a Royal Canadian Navy Veteran decrying the inclusion of Cirillo’s image in the email.

“I have spent my entire life and political career defending and advocating for the women and men of the Canadian Armed Forces, especially with Garrison Petawawa located in my riding,” Gallant said in her apology. “I included a photo of Corporal Cirillo as a way to honour him. In my view, and that of many others, he is a Canadian hero who should not be forgotten and whose memory should be celebrated.