(Truro) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of National Defense Anita Anand are expected in Truro, Nova Scotia, this Saturday to issue a formal apology to the descendants of the 2e Construction Battalion, for the treatment of Canada’s only all-Black unit that served in the First World War.
Posted at 8:43 a.m.
Mr. Trudeau and Mr.me Anand will be joined by other representatives of the federal government and the Canadian Armed Forces for this official apology from the Canadian government.
This apology comes after consultations with the descendants of the 600 members of the 2e Construction Battalion, described as heroes by Defense Minister Anita Anand when she announced plans last March to offer a formal apology.
Hundreds of black men in Canada were turned away when they volunteered to fight overseas in 1914 because they were not wanted in what was seen as a white man’s war.
After two years of protest, the Canadian Army was granted permission in 1916 to establish a separate non-combatant battalion, and more than 300 of those who enlisted were from Nova Scotia.
Only a few of its members were combat ready, mainly because the battalion was repeatedly told that its help was not wanted on the front line and it received no public acknowledgment to its Come back to the country.
The Department of National Defense and the Canadian Armed Forces have said that the systemic racism experienced by the men of 2e Construction Battalion constitutes hateful conduct.