Meeting of the Canadian military leadership to discuss inclusion policies in the Armed Forces, last Wednesday.
The Canadian Army has suffered multiple cases of racism, discrimination and sexual violence in its ranks over decades.
Last Wednesday, Admiral Art McDonald, chief of staff of the Armed Forces, held a controversial meeting with other members of the military leadership to address the problem.
Or that was his intention.
"Talking about diversity, inclusion and culture change is not incompatible with our thirst for operational excellence," McDonald wrote on his Twitter account.
"Diversity makes us stronger, inclusion improves our institution," he added.
However, the photograph that accompanied the message showed eight white men.
The criticisms ran like wildfire, pointing out the incoherence between the message and the attendees.
"Canada is proving once again that putting white men in power is the only way to achieve diversity and inclusion," said Stephen Punwasi, a Toronto-based technology consultant.
Fiona Mattatall, a professor at the University of Calgary, noted: "Is this [Twitter] account a parody?"
For his part, journalist André Picard commented: “Diversity?
Inclusion?
Culture change?
A picture is worth a thousand words".
On the same Wednesday, Admiral McDonald posted another message, indicating that he highly valued the comments received.
“It is true that the leadership of the Canadian Armed Forces was and continues to be composed mainly of white men.
This must change.
We need to reflect the diversity of Canada at all levels.
We must work to eliminate systemic racism and barriers to career advancement.
Much remains to be done to achieve the goal we have set ourselves, but we are determined to do so, ”he wrote.
According to data published in December 2019, women represent 16% of the Canadian military.
The objective of this institution is to reach 25% in 2026. There is no record regarding the ethnic origin of the people who make up the military ranks.
In recent years, several ex-military members - mainly from the black community and indigenous groups - have asked the courts for compensation for alleged racist acts during their duties.
In November 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made an official apology to members of the LGBTQ community who were investigated or lost their jobs in the Armed Forces because of their sexual orientation.
Seven months later, a federal court authorized the payment by Ottawa of financial compensation for a maximum of 86 million dollars.
In November 2018, the intelligence section of the military police presented a report on the presence of some members and followers of white supremacist groups inside the barracks.
One of these groups is Proud Boys, included a few days ago in the list of terrorist entities of the Canadian Government.
"While the vast majority of our members adhere to the highest level of professionalism and personal conduct, those who engage in such activities undermine the trust that Canadians have placed in them," said Harjit Sajjan, Defense Minister.
At the end of 2019, the payment of some 900 million dollars in compensation to victims of sexual harassment and assault was authorized, both in the Armed Forces and in the Ministry of Defense, ending various collective lawsuits.
The high command had launched Operation Honor in 2015 to fight against these crimes.
A survey by Statistics Canada found that 1.6% of the 36,000 military personnel consulted said they had suffered some type of sexual assault between 2017 and 2018. The issue has returned to the front pages recently, since the Parliament's defense committee opened an investigation related to the accusations towards Jonathan Vance, chief of staff of the Armed Forces from July 2015 to January 2021. Two women who are part of the military ranks accuse Vance of "inappropriate" conduct.