Canadian Armed Forces apologizes for racial discrimination and harassment

The canadian river Armed Forces (CAF) apologized th for racial secernment and torment electric current and past members faced while serving their country. 

The apology was made by Gen. Jennie Carignan, chief of the defence staff, and Chief Warrant Officer Bob McCann in Ottawa.

“For way too long First Nations, Inuit, Métis, Black, Asian and other racialized members of the CAF faced systemic barriers that limited their ability to serve, contribute and thrive as equal members and too often mistreated and even abused at the hands of their fellow members,” said Carignan.

“I acknowledge we failed you… We didn’t create an environment where you could serve your country to the highest level with pride and determination and I’m sorry for the silence, indifference and that this went on for years.”

She said the CAF has committed to eliminating systemic barriers, addressing biases at every level, and integrating awareness of systemic racism into recruitment and training.

“Racism has no place in the CAF. It cannot be tolerated and it has no place in our future,” she said. 

'We failed you': CAF commander delivers emotional apology for military's discrimination of members

McCann spoke following Carignan’s apology. 

“You gave your best to this institution. You gave your best to this country. You gave your best to your teams,” said McCann. 

“You deserved far better than what you have received.”

Retired military members from Indigenous, Black and Asian communities spoke at the ceremony. 

"An apology, while necessary, is only the beginning," said Wendy Jocko, a retired sergeant and former chief of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation. 

"Today we do not seek empty promises or hollow gestures, we seek transformative, deep, lasting and meaningful change.”

Jocko served 23 years in the CAF. Both of Jocko’s parents served in the Second World War with distinction, her grandparents fought in the First World War and her great-grandfather, Grand Chief Pierre-Louis Constant Pinesi, fought alongside the British in the War of 1812. 

“For generations, Indigenous peoples who stepped forward to serve Canada faced not only the dangers of military service, but also the wounds inflicted by systemic racism within the very institution they chose to serve,” she said.

Jocko reflected on Indigenous soldiers who served while being denied the right to vote, those who returned home from overseas to find their children taken to residential school and those who faced daily indignities – slurs whispered in mess halls, promotions denied, and cultural practices denied.

“To the current and former CAF members who have experienced racism: your service mattered, your pain is acknowledged and your courage in speaking truth to power has made this moment of reckoning possible,” said Jocko.

“This apology belongs to you.” 

The ceremony also included speeches from retired captain Kevin Junor, who reflected on anti-Black racism, and retired lieutenant-commander Albert Wong spoke of the difficulties endured by the Asian community.

“Like many we have often been caught between a sense of pride in service and the pain of exclusion and misunderstanding,” said Junor. 

He pointed to the Minister of National Defence Advisory Panel on Systemic Racism and Discrimination’s final report, which stated, "Racism in Canada is not a glitch in the system; it is the system."

Wong said the apology "gives promise that the scars from racism endured by this remarkable group of warriors and others like them will no longer be invisible."

The Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces held four consultation sessions with CAF members and academic experts at the beginning of the year. The findings concluded the need for action to follow the apology, continuing conversations and future training and education within the CAF. 

Journalist

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