Canadian troops wade ashore after landing in the D-Day invasion at Bernieres-sur-Mer
Canadian troops wade ashore after landing in the D-Day invasion at Bernieres-sur-Mer in this June 6, 1944 handout photo. Hundreds of veterans are gathering on June 2009 in Normandy to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. The building now known as Queen's Own Rifles House is at left. REUTERS/Public Archives Canada

Ernest Cote, a Canadian Second World War veteran, was robbed on Thursday. Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino expressed outrage over the incident.

Fantino has said that he is "deeply angry" that someone could do such a thing to the WWII veteran. The 101-year-old said that he was a D-Day veteran who had landed on Juno Beach on June 6, 1944. The Globe And Mail reported that Cote earlier travelled to France with Fantino for D-Day anniversary ceremonies. The Veteran Affairs minister said that he was honoured to get to know the veteran. "I am angry to think that someone would do such a thing to any Canadian senior, let alone someone who fought to secure the freedom we all enjoy," Fantino said in his statement, "I hope that the person who did this will face the full force of the law."

According to investigators, a man claiming to be a city employee approached when Cote was alone in his house. It was around 7:30 a.m. on Thursday when the man robbed the WWII veteran. Ottawa Police, on the other hand, did not name Cote as the victim even though it said that the veteran had been tied up in his house and robbed. Police said that the man, pretending to be an employee, asked for money from the veteran at the door. When Cote refused to meet his demands, he forced his way inside the apartment. The intruder tied Cote up and took undisclosed items from the veteran's property. Cote apparently managed to free himself and called police. His neighbours identified that the alleged victim was Cote.

Police have released an image of the suspect and asked people to come forward to identify him. According to police, Cote was left uninjured. When officers asked about his ordeal, he politely refused to talk about it. Ottawa Citizen described the suspect as a Caucasian man who was around 50. The man has a "prominent nose" with short grey hair. The man with fair complexion was wearing a black winter jacket. He also wore driver's style cap, boots, pants and gloves. The man, who possibly wore glasses, apparently had black shoulder bag.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au