Canadian Armed Forces Apology for Racial Discrimination and Racial Harassment: The Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean
Video / April 16, 2026
Transcript
Capt (Navy) Kelly Williamson: Our last speaker before the presentation of the national apology is the Honourable Michaëlle Jean. Ms. Jean leads a remarkable life, led by courage and leadership. She found refuge in Canada with her family, where she climbed the steps to become journalist, stateswoman, and 27th Governor General of Canada. She was the first Black person and the first Canadian of Haitian origin to hold that position.
Her life and career have been dedicated to advancing freedom, equality and human dignity, breaking barriers and amplifying voices long silenced. Her presence here today reminds us of the power of representation and the responsibility of leadership.
Please welcome the Honourable Michaëlle Jean.
The Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean: I first want to look at the room, see you all here. And I also want to say how touched I am to be here with you, and for every single word that was said in this room. There was a vibration in this room that is absolutely exceptional.
So, distinguished guests, Mesdames et Messieurs, chers amis, Your Excellency, the Right Honourable Mary May Simon, Governor General and Commander in Chief of Canada, Monsieur le Ministre, General Carignan, members of the Canadian Armed Forces, survivors, families, veterans, young people, dear friends, you know, we gather here today in a moment that goes far beyond ceremony. This is not about formality. This is about truth. It is about dignity. It is about honour – not in its imagined version, but in its earned, hard-won form.
Today, we speak of courage, not just battlefield courage, but moral courage – the courage to speak, the courage to face, the courage to stand, the courage to change.
Because it is courage and bravery that gather us here today – courage and bravery from those who, for too long, carried that burden, this heavy burden, on their shoulders and in their heart, of injustice. Not only in ancient history, but within our contemporary institutions. And courage now to give justice. I am not here to present apologies; it is not my role. But I am happy to be here to convey memory, to speak truth, and to call for the necessary and urgent transformation.
This morning, we heard the powerful, grounded, deeply human testimonies of Wendy Jocko, Kevin Junor and Albert Wong. I want to thank you because as you spoke, we heard voices that refused to stay silent, voices that rose not out of anger, but out of truth. They reminded us that the hardest battles are not always fought abroad. Sometimes they are fought within our hearts and in the very institutions we serve. What your comrades did today, standing here, speaking their truth, that too is courage.
Courage is not just risking your life in combat; it also to say, “This is what I lived. This is what I endured. This is what I refuse to silence.” And it is that strength, this interior bravery, that we have to honour today – this bravery that pushes you to call out on exclusion, racism, humiliation, even if you risk losing everything.
Let us be clear – these testimonies are not isolated stories, they are not exceptions, they are the echoes of a long pattern, a pattern of exclusion, of injustice and of silencing. Some served in units where they were the only ones, some never received the promotions they earned, some were asked to give their loyalty while never fully receiving it in return.
This silence, this invisibility, you know, I’ve experienced that myself in my lifetime. During my mandate of Governor General and Head of the Armed Forces, I was called upon to preside over the commemorations of landing on Juno Beach, and the prime minister at the time had asked me to welcome the Indigenous veterans here in Rideau Hall, whereas all the other veterans were leaving for Normandy. So, I asked, “But why aren’t they going? Why aren’t they going on those beaches where they fought for peace and freedom?” So, I said, “Mr. Prime Minister, these Indigenous veterans deserve the same recognition, so they will come with me to Juno Beach.” So we went there together.
And there was this incredible, deep feeling of a lot of pain, but at the same time, the necessity to live fully this moment of recognition. And when we arrived in France, the people who saw the Indigenous delegation in full regalia said, “They were also there to free us,” “So they too were there to liberate us.” And later, I asked the veterans what was hardest about their experience? And I, of course, expected them to speak of battle, but they said, “coming home.” I asked, “Why?” They answered, “Well, over there, we were Canadian soldiers, fighting shoulder to shoulder, but when we came back, we were nothing – no benefits, no pensions. We were back to being just damned Indians again.”
You know, that injustice broke my heart, so I shared their words with government. Recognition came eventually, but it should not have taken so long. We still owe them more. We must speak not only of individual experiences, but of the system that produced them. The idea of white supremacy, this notion that some lives matter more than others, it was not born of ignorance, it was invented. It was designed in medieval Europe to justify the violence of empire, the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the colonization of lands, the subjugation of entire peoples. It told European powers they were not merely conquering; they were civilizing the inferior. It told enslavers they were not exploiting; they were owning pieces of property. It told nations they could build wealth on the backs of others and call it greatness. This lie travelled across centuries. It shaped individual perspectives and the very institutions we inhabit today.
We have to say this very clearly. Racism is not a historical accident; it’s an ideology that’s been built, thought through, and reproduced – an ideology that was born to serve the institution of slavery, to legitimize violent colonization, to feed the idea that some people were meant to dominate and others to obey and look down to the ground. And it is this ideology that has been installed in the laws, policies, the outlook, the speeches and practices. It justified the worst atrocities. And it left deep marks in our institutions, including in the Armed Forces.
So, what we are naming today, what we are calling out, is also that heritage. Together, we are neutralizing this poison, and we are transforming it in a moral strength to reinforce our resistance.
Here is the heartbreaking paradox. Still, those targeted by racism served with everything they had. They fought, they saluted, they stood tall in uniforms that often did not stand with them. That takes courage. And today, finally we listen.
For me, I know what it means to be afraid of the uniform. I come from a country, Haiti, where the uniform served to oppress rather than to protect. When I became Commander in Chief, it was for me both a challenge and a great learning experience, a reconciliation. I saw faces, I heard stories, and I understood that it is not the uniform that gives value; it’s the person wearing the uniform that puts integrity, respect and justice into the uniform.
As Commander in Chief, I saw courage on the battlefield, but also in mothers, in families, in those who... who carried the unbearable pain and burden of surviving the forever absence of their loved ones, the fallen, and I saw those who were overlooked not for lack of merit, but because of race, faith, accent, identity.
And now, the Canadian Armed Forces are presenting their official apologies, and this is a very necessary action – coming late, but essential. Let’s recognize this, this moment of truth. It’s clear that for the first time, we have a woman who is proudly leading our Armed Forces. We know what it has cost the first women who chose to join with conviction the National Defence.
General Jennie Carignan understands that strength is rooted in truth, that true leadership is rooted in bravery. Her presence... your presence, General, at the helm, is not symbolic, it is transformative. And it signals something deeper: that a country cannot be defended by only some of its people; it must include all of us.
Inclusion is not a concession; it’s clearly intelligence. Exclusion is not intelligence. This intelligence of inclusion is one of the strongest forces that a country can have – an ethical force, a human force, as well as a moral force. And I say it again, it’s the opposite of exclusion. And what is exclusion? It’s a deficit of resources, a deficit of perspectives, of participation, of intelligence, of power, and a deficit of strategy also.
When we fail to include, we inflict a deficit on ourselves, a deficit of participation, a deficit of understanding, a deficit of perspectives, a deficit of energies and synergies, and also a deficit of possibilities. To those still serving, your courage will shape this institution. To the young watching, you are the ones who will ensure this never happens again. Will you? I can’t hear you. Will you?
For those of you who have been hurt, excluded, erased, you haven’t dreamt this. What you experienced was real. And finally, now, we see you. Finally, now, we believe you.
There’s something I’ve said many times and I say it again today, with all the weight of memory and hope. When the present doesn’t recognize the wrongs of the past, the future takes its revenge.
One cannot protect a country through the fragmentation of its peoples. We can’t defend a nation by excluding some of those who would serve. It’s in unity of all of these elements, in the recognition of all of these voices, that Canada really finds its true strength. What we are experiencing today is without precedent in the world. Never before has a national armed forces publicly spoken to recognize publicly the injustices that occurred for their Black, Aboriginal, Asian, and racialized members.
This gesture distinguishes us. At a time when many countries are experiencing regression, this gesture, our gesture, is opening up a new world. Look to the south, the United States – every day, we can see political elites who are working to reverse decades of progress. People are now once again humiliated in a very extreme fashion – women, Black people, racialized people, the poor, new immigrants. We’re dividing people and we hate them. We’re erasing history. We’re using fear to manipulate.
And so, don’t doubt for an instant that those who want to exclude, who want to hate, they’re also among us. We haven’t been immunized against hatred. Vigilance is necessary. So we need to really follow the values that define us, that define who we are. We can say that here, in Canada, we consciously choose another way of being, and we can be proud of that. And this is something that distinguishes us, and it honours us.
So we Canadians choose a different path. We choose to face our own truth – not to shame ourselves, but to rise. We choose to say, “Yes, we are imperfect, but we are not afraid – not afraid to learn, not afraid to change, not afraid to grow and not afraid to battle evil.” And that makes us human. That is what makes us strong and free. And let this be a turning point, not just for the Canadian Armed Forces, not just for Canada, but as a precedent for the world. Let us build an institution and a country where no one is merely tolerated, where everyone belongs, and where courage is not punished but honoured.
I salute your bravery, and I thank you.
Thank you. Miigwetch.
Capt (Navy) Kelly Williamson: Thank you, Mme Jean, for your wisdom, your engagement and your call to justice. Thank you to all our speakers for your strength, your honesty and your grace. Your words remind us that the impacts of racism are real, personal and enduring. You have given voice to truth, and in doing so, you have given purpose to this day.
| Preview | Video |
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Canadian Armed Forces Apology for Racial Discrimination and Racial Harassment: Opening Remarks and Territorial Welcome |
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Canadian Armed Forces Apology for Racial Discrimination and Racial Harassment: Sgt (Ret'd) Wendy Jocko |
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Canadian Armed Forces Apology for Racial Discrimination and Racial Harassment: Capt (Ret’d) Kevin Junor |
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Canadian Armed Forces Apology for Racial Discrimination and Racial Harassment: LCdr (Ret’d) Albert Wong |
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Canadian Armed Forces Apology for Racial Discrimination and Racial Harassment: The Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean |
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Canadian Armed Forces Apology for Racial Discrimination and Racial Harassment: Delivery of the National Apology |
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Canadian Armed Forces Apology for Racial Discrimination and Racial Harassment: Closing Remarks |