OTTAWA -- A member of the Canadian military police has been charged with two counts of violating the Armed Forces disciplinary code after allegedly disseminating racist images.
The Department of National Defense isn't identifying the member, but it said he serves in the 5th Military Police Regiment, which is based in Montreal and responsible for the application of military law throughout Quebec.
The first mention of the racist images appeared in a message to Canadian military personnel in June by General Jonathan Vance, then Chief of the Defense Staff, and his civilian counterpart at National Defense, Deputy Minister Jody Thomas.
The two officials were apologizing at the time for their slowness in responding to systemic racism in the military and within the Defense Ministry. They also said the military police were investigating a member of the service for allegedly disseminating racist images.
Thomas and Vance didn't provide details at the time, except to say that the incident allegedly took place in Quebec and was specifically targeted at Black people.
Canada's military police, including the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service, have faced questions in recent weeks about their independence and their ability to investigate allegations of misconduct against senior officers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2021.
