Message to the Defence Team about the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

March 21, 2021 - Defence Stories

Team,

Today, we mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. We know that within our wider team, we have individual behaviours and biases that are harmful to a safe and respectful workplace, detrimental to the trust we have in one another, and injurious to the confidence that Canadians have in us. Whether rooted in ignorance, in a more insidious ideology, or some spectrum in between, racism and discrimination are completely unacceptable.

Each of us is accountable for our own words and actions. At the same time, the behaviour we walk by is the behaviour we endorse. We should and must call out unacceptable behaviour when we see it.

To those who are called out by a colleague—whatever your rank or position—be open to the suggestion that your actions or words run counter to the high standard to which we must hold ourselves within the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces. Also, consider accepting responsibility for your actions, apologizing for the harm, learning from your mistakes, and taking tangible action to avoid those mistakes in the future; these actions are key components of responsible leadership.

Addressing individual behaviours and biases is one part of addressing racism and discrimination within our Defence Team. We also acknowledge that our institution has—in the course of its history—created, adopted or perpetuated legacy systems that directly disadvantage team members who are Black, Indigenous and of other racialized backgrounds. Through the guidance of the Minister’s External Advisory Panel, and the work of National Defence’s Anti-Racism Secretariat, as well as many other dedicated colleagues across this Defence Team, we will work to dismantle such harmful systems and processes that detract from our overall effectiveness of this Defence Team.

While our institution is actively striving to be the equitable and inclusive Defence Team Canadians expect of us, we still have a great deal of work to do. We must continue to push ahead with this work, not only because our organization must reflect the Canadians we serve, but because it is unequivocally the right thing to do.