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Your Excellency, distinguished guests, members of the Canadian Armed forces, but also affected members for who we are here for today.
Good afternoon. Bonjour. Kwey.
I stand before you today with humility, and also with a heavy heart, as I echo the deep regrets expressed by our Chief of the Defence Staff, General Carignan, but also as I listened to the stories that were told this afternoon. And we only heard a portion of stories because each and every one of you in this room have a story you can tell, and we will need to hear these stories eventually.
As Canadian Armed Forces Chief Warrant Officer, my duty is clear: my duty is to uphold and embody the values we are sworn to defend.
But it's more than that. It is my responsibility to ensure that every member of our Forces feels seen, heard, respected, and protected.
That every person in uniform knows they belong, that our members feel that they can be entirely themselves at work to realize their full potential and to serve in an environment rooted in trust, dignity, and safety, whether it be physical, emotional, and mental.
Today, we speak a difficult truth: for far too many in our ranks, this has not been the reality.
As the Canadian Armed Forces Chief Warrant Officer, I represent the senior non-commissioned members, I represent our junior ranks and together we form the backbone of the Canadian Armed Forces.
And on our behalf, to you I say this: we acknowledge that racism and discrimination have caused real harm.
As we have seen in the testimonies this afternoon, members have been diminished, disrupted, denied opportunities. Trust has been shattered and promising careers with many possibilities have been cut short.
Unfortunately, these were not isolated events.
They were symptoms of a deeper issue: a systemic failure that has persisted for much too long.
This has weakened our unity, it has compromised our mission.
Some of these harms happened in silence, unseen, except for the victim, the affected person, and the perpetrator, the respondent.
Others were more open, yet tolerated. Or worse, excused.
You have endured terrible injustice that should never have happened.
You were let down, suffered racist acts of both omission and commission, flowing from a systemic racism that was able to flourish because your leadership did not do enough to confront it. To condemn it. Or to put it to an end.
This is our failure. Not yours.
It should never have been your burden to carry.
And we know, the impact hasn't stopped at your careers. It has affected your mental health, it has rippled through your families, your friendships, and your communities, and in some cases, it lasted too, too, long.
On behalf of the leadership of the Canadian Armed Forces, I offer a full and heartfelt apology. An apology to every member who endured racism. An apology to everyone of who faced discrimination. I am so sorry for what you have been put through and what you had to endure.
I am sorry for every time your voice was met with silence.
I am sorry for every moment you were made to feel invisible.
I am sorry for every time a fellow member, often someone in a position of leadership, chose to look away or turn a blind eye.
I am sorry for the slights, the disrespect, the moments when your identity was dismissed, and your loyalty questioned.
You gave your best to this institution.
You gave your best to this country.
And you gave your best to your teams.
And you deserved far better than what you have received.
But an apology, as important as it is, is not enough.
Repairing the harm will take more than words.
It will require each of us, at every level, to become more informed, more aware, and more accountable.
As leaders, it is required that we live the values that we speak, and we must demand the same of all those around us.
This will require a continued transformation of our culture, from the classroom, to the cockpit, to the command post, on every base, every wing, every ship, and every operational deployment.
This will not be easy. But like General Carignan mentioned, if there's an organization that can do this, it is our organization because of who we are, and because of the great people that we have when we come together and have this unity.
It means confronting hard truths.
It means having difficult conversations.
And committing to real, measurable change.
I am extremely proud to wear this uniform.
I am equally proud to serve in the Canadian Armed Forces.
And with today's apology, and the actions that must follow, my deepest hope is that everybody in the Canadian Armed Forces, regardless of who they are, regardless of where they came from, can say the same thing.
Thank you. Merci. Miigwetch.
