The Canadian Armed Forcesâ swift condemnation of its members who disrupted an Indigenous protest in Halifax is âa really great step forward,â says a Miâkmaq activist and poet who witnessed the incident.
Rebecca Thomas said she and other people at the Canada Day demonstration were ânervousâ when the men identifying themselves as members of the âProud Boys,â a U.S.-based ultra-conservative fraternity-like group, showed up.
âTo see this group of young men show up, completely unabashed in what they were doing, itâs definitely nerve wracking,â Thomas told ŰÎŰ´ŤĂ˝ Channel on Wednesday.
As people gathered to mark the mistreatment of the Mi'kmaq people under Halifaxâs controversial founder Edward Cornwallis, a group of men dressed in matching black and yellow polo-style shirts approached the Indigenous demonstrators and debated their claim to the land on which the protest was held.
Five men captured on video at the event were identified as Canadian Armed Forces members. They have since been removed from duty and training while the military conducts an investigation into their conduct.
Canadaâs top soldier has apologized to the Indigenous community, saying the menâs actions donât represent the military.
"I detest any action by a Canadian Armed Forces member that is intended to show disrespect towards the very people and cultures we value in Canada," Gen. Jonathan Vance, chief of the defence staff, said in a statement Tuesday.
"We are the nation's protectors, and any member of the Canadian Armed Forces who is not prepared to be the defender we need them to be will face severe consequences, including release from the Forces,â he said.
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan also said there will be consequences for military personnel who "express intolerance while in -- or out -- of uniform."
Thomas said the militaryâs response is âvery hopeful to see,â but she wants to see âmore community involvementâ in how the menâs actions are dealt with.
âItâs one thing to discipline somebody within a system that is very familiar to them and itâs another to have them face Indigenous communitiesâ restorative justice process and for them to really understand why what they did was wrong,â she said.
With files from The Canadian Press