The federal government has implemented safeguards to prevent fake war veterans from taking part in citizenship ceremonies after a Hamilton man was caught posing as a decorated ex-soldier last year.

The procedures include liaising with veteran associations to identify participants, verifying veterans' identification numbers, and preventing those who were dishonourably discharged from taking part.

"The steps above will ensure that CAF members and veterans may continue to play an important role in welcoming new citizens to the Canadian family, while ensuring that incidents such as the one referenced does not happen again," Nancy Caron, spokesperson for Citizenship and Immigration Canada, wrote in an email Wednesday.

Earlier this month, Donald Lemmond was convicted of wearing medals he didn't earn during a Mohawk College Remembrance Day keynote speech and a downtown citizenship ceremony last year.

The 67-year-old received a suspended sentence and was placed on 12 months of probation during his July 9 court appearance.

"I'd only like to say that I'm extremely sorry that I took and purchased the medals, but I thought it would give me a little more authority in the job that I was performing for the legion that I was in," he told court.

Lemmond pleaded guilty to two counts of wearing medals without lawful excuse that would likely be mistaken for authentic service honours.

In his Nov. 11 college speech, he wore several U.S. service medals, including a Silver Star, Prisoner of War medal and Purple Heart. "My name is Don Lemmond. I served with the forces of Canada and the United States for 35 years as a captain in the army medical corps. I retired from active service in 2007," a YouTube video shows him telling the crowd before drawing attention to his "many awards and honours."

He'd already spoken at a citizenship ceremony at the Federal Building on Bay Street North on Sept. 30, 2014.

"Ultimately, it was learned that these medals were not earned by this individual and, in fact, he had purchased them," Crown prosecutor Brett Moodie said.

Although he wildly embellished his military career, claiming he served in Afghanistan and Vietnam, Lemmond was indeed a Canadian reservist for a time.

His lawyer, Dean Paquette, noted that as a member of Her Majesty's Army and Navy Veterans Society of Hamilton, his client was encouraged to wear the club's uniform.

But Lemmond believed he'd gain more respect by adorning the attire with military medals, Paquette said. "Candidly, he concedes to me it gave him a greater sense of prestige attending these functions."

Lemmond also told Paquette he was abandoned as a child, adopted at age five, sexually abused, a student in a Brantford residential school and patient in a psychiatric hospital when he was a teenager.

"So one could well understand that the role he was playing gave him a level of self-respect, perhaps a false one, but self-respect he probably never had experienced in his life."

Lemmond also underwent a quadruple bypass three years ago and was scheduled for surgery to treat blood clots in his legs, Paquette said.

When the allegations became public, the old age pensioner received death threats, he added.

Justice Timothy Culver expressed sympathy for Lemmond's rough upbringing, but said the needs and sacrifices of war veterans "really are diminished" by such false claims. "You really didn't gain anything other than some, I suppose, minor ego boost."

Culver placed Lemmond on 12 months of probation, during which time he must report to a probation officer. He's not allowed to wear military medals or honours to which he's not entitled.

The senior citizen's story came under scrutiny when Mohawk student Daniel Levinter, a former cadet, noticed "red flags" during the apparently decorated veteran's Nov. 11 speech at the McIntyre theatre.

On Wednesday, Mohawk thanked Levinter for having the "courage to step up and question" Lemmond's service record.

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"It was a teachable moment for Mohawk and one that we're not going to repeat," spokesperson Jay Robb said in an email.

"We're going to do our homework on every guest speaker who takes part in one of the most important ceremonies at our college."

Lemmond didn't return requests for comment Wednesday.