Military apologizes for racial discrimination: ‘We failed you’

Gen. Jennie Carignan apologizes for the military’s racist past and pledges to improve conditions for racialized members. Annie Bergeron-Oliver reports.

The Canadian Armed Forces has apologized for its role in the racial discrimination and harassment current and former members faced while on the job.

On a dark and dreary day, Chief of the Defence Staff General Jennie Carignan told a crowd of military members and veterans that the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) failed its people.

“I apologize to every CAF member, veteran who experienced racism, discrimination and harassment and I acknowledge we failed you,” she said holding back tears.

Carignan called the apology a milestone for the Canadian military and said it comes on a dark day or the military.

“For way too long, First Nations, Inuit, Metis, 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,” she said. “Speaking personally, what I have learned, has broken my heart. It has filled me with sadness, anger, but then the resolve to do much better.”

In a news release, the Department of National Defence said the apology was not legally mandated but was part of what the department called the force’s proactive engagement in the restoration of trust and the healing of past harms.

Jae Day served for about 17 years and was invited by the CAF to attend the apology in person. She joined the military in 2008 at just 16 years old and says the incidents of racism and sexism started early in her career.

“I started to receive a lot of comments about my skin colour, based on being a very petite woman as well and it trickled into so many other feelings of not feeling proud to wear the uniform,” said Day, adding that other CAF members would call her “chocolate milk” and “brown sugar.”

Day was recently released from the military and has embraced a new career as a birth and postpartum Doula. She also runs a Facebook page for CAF members who have faced discrimination and racial harassment and are interested in seeking compensation through a class-action lawsuit.

Day says the “painful irony” is that very few survivors in her Facebook group were invited to Ottawa. She says those who were invited were told by the CAF they had to pay their own way. So, she started a GoFundMe account to help survivors make it to Ottawa for the apology.

“Many have reached out saying that they were not able to come because flights from across the country can be between $600 to $800 on a flight. So that has been a challenging thing for many veterans,” she said.

Rubin Coward initially found out about the apology from a friend. Once he was extended an invite from the CAF, he was told he’d have to pay his own way.

“I said to them, so you want me to come to listen to somebody that put us through all of this pain, and you want me to come and pay to hear them talk about their story?” he said.

Coward, who helped lead a class-action lawsuit against the federal government for discrimination in the force, said he eventually convinced the military to pay for him and his wife to travel to Ottawa for the event.

In a statement issued the day after publication, the Department of National Defence said the invitation list for the in-person event was developed with the Defence Advisory Groups rather than through the institutional chain of command. 

“This approach was taken to uphold an anti-racist trauma-informed principles, so that decisions about who would attend were led by impacted communities — thereby minimizing the risk of systemic bias from the institution,” wrote a spokesperson in an emailed statement.

The department says funding for CAF members who were invited to attend in person was provided through “a number of channels.” Currently serving CAF members or veterans who currently work at DND as public servants, a spokesperson said, were advised to engage with their leadership for further direction. Veterans who are not currently affiliated with the military, meanwhile, were contacted by Veterans Affairs Canada about making travel arrangements. The department says they were encouraged to talk to VAC if they needed travel support.

“Please note that the funding provided could not be used to pay for the travel expenses of invitees’ guests,” a department spokesperson wrote.

To accommodate those who could not make it to Ottawa for the event, the department says an online live stream was made available.

The military says it is committed to real and lasting culture change. In a press release, the force highlighted that it has addressed all 8 recommendations from the National Apology Advisory Committee and implemented 31 of 39 recommendations made in the Minister of National Defence’s Advisory Panel on Systemic Racism and Discrimination Final Report.

The 2022 report into systemic racism and discrimination found inequality in representation existed in every corner of the Defence Team and urged special attention to 13 specific areas to address systemic barriers. The failure of the CAF to be representative of broader Canadian demographics, the report said, was “rooted in the system that was created by European settlers.”

Coward says the systemic discrimination he faced during his more than 14-year career led to enduring pain for himself and his family. Forced to retire early, in large part due to a diagnosis of complex PTSD, Coward now spends his time advocating on behalf of individuals who are being forced to fight the system they’re in because of sexism and racism.

“I’m going to fight till I die, because this is wrong on every conceivable level, and for people that are supposed to be purportedly educated and fair-minded, I’ve seen a disconnect in their at their actions,” he said.

The most recent Auditor General report released in October, found that the Canadian Armed Forces has been able to recruit more Indigenous and visible minorities. In 2024, numbers provided by the Auditor General show about 5 per cent of recruits were Indigenous peoples, roughly 22 per cent were visible minorities, and just over 15 per cent were women.

Coward says that after attending the event, and from the Chief of Defence Staff and the Chief Warrant Officer, he feels the apology was truly sincere and heartfelt.

Veteran Justin Woodcock says the apology made him feel seen, and his lived experience was validated.

“It really warmed my heart to see that we’re on the right path towards healing and reconciliation,” Woodcock said after watching the live stream from Winnipeg.

A First Nation veteran from Opaskwayak Cree Nation, Woodcock said he often buried down the racism he faced and tried not to acknowledge it.

“To have someone come out and say that, you know, what happened to us was real. It wasn’t right, and it’s changing. Just spoke volumes to me,” he said, adding that he now feels like his children have a spot in the Canadian military.

Woodcock says he is starting to see change, including the addition of a sweat lodge at 17 Wing in Winnipeg.

“If that was available to me while I serve, that would have changed my experience significantly, and to see First Nations ways of healing and traditional culture being reinforced and embraced on Canadian Forces bases across Canada, I don’t think you can ask for a better a better story moving forward,” Woodcock said.