PM Justin Trudeau apologises for racism faced by Canada's first and only Black Battalion
July 27, 2022
Next year during Black History Month in February, the Royal Canadian Mint will release a pure silver collector coin to honour the No. 2 Construction Battalion.
At a ceremony on July 9 in Truro, Nova Scotia, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement while issuing an apology for the blatant racism members of Canada’s first and only Black Battalion were subjected to while trying to fight for their country.
The regiment, whose nearly 600 members served mostly in France, was formally authorized as a unit of the Canadian Expeditionary Force 111 years ago.
“This coin will allow Canadians, no matter where they live, to be part of remembering this extraordinary legacy,” the PM said. “All members of the Canadian Armed Forces fight under the same flag. Our flag may have changed since the First World War, but what we stand for never has – freedom, peace, justice, fairness and hope. This is the promise of Canada and while we still have work to do, this should always be what we fight for at home and around the world. Today, to the memory of these Black soldiers, we would like to say, ‘Today, we see you and we honour you’. To their descendants, we hope you see yourselves as you are, heirs to the memory of true Canadian heroes.”
The No. 2 Construction Battalion (Photo courtesy of the Museum Windsor/P6110)
Trudeau said standing up and volunteering to fight for country is one of the most selfless acts a person can display.
“To risk your life, to defend your values and your loved ones is an act of extraordinary bravery, of honour, of sacrifice, of loyalty,” he added. “When the First World War broke out in Europe and Canada joined the fight, men from across the country flocked to enlist. Among those brave volunteers were hundreds of young Black men eager to serve who loved Canada and were ready to take up arms to defend kin and country. They were willing and able patriots who wanted to serve. In repeated acts of discrimination and racism, almost every single Black volunteer was turned away and denied the honour of serving their country.”
Even though born and raised in Kentville, Nova Scotia and a history buff, Anita Anand admitted she knew nothing of the No.2 Construction Battalion until she became Minister of National Defence last November.
“I remember being in class and learning about the brave military history of our province and our country,” she pointed out. “And yet throughout my life, these history lessons never once included the story of the dedicated members of the No. 2 Construction Battalion.
Anand joined Trudeau in signing the apology.
“The members of the No. 2 Construction Battalion were discriminated before, during and after their service in the Great War,” she said. “We are deeply sorry to all of the Battalion’s descendants and to the members of the Battalion who are no longer with us today. I hope that today’s apology will help recognize every Black Canadian who bravely served this country in times of war and in the pursuit of peace. May today contribute to building a Canada that lives up to the ideals that the members of the Battalion fought so bravely to protect. We have more road to travel, but we will keep walking that road together until we get this right.”
The apology, noted Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard, is a form of reparations for past harms.
Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
“It is the first apology to be given to our people, but I believe that our critical hope is that it will not be the last,” she said. “This is acceptance and recognition of past harms. We know there is much more to be done and Black Canadians from coast to coast expect more to correct the wrongs that have been done and more to correct the things we are still living with.
“Our ancestors were survivors and loyal Canadians even though they had a lifetime of second-class citizenship in this country. Despite their personal, family and community struggles, they were also concerned about the global war effort. Imagine they wanted to help, but they were denied the right to fight for their country. Imagine they had to fight their country to fight for their country. Imagine the sacrifice and dedication, imagine the fear and determination, imagine the willingness to put your country first even when that country didn’t value or respect you.”
Liberal Member of Parliament Greg Fergus said the brave members of the No. 2 Construction Battalion reflected the unwavering spirit of Black Canadians who have made meaningful contributions to Canada despite the fact that it was omitted from history books.
“This event reminds us that the advocacy and the fighting for our rights matter,” said Trudeau’s Parliamentary Secretary. “It certainly mattered back in 1916 when Black soldiers were being turned away from wanting to go to war for their country and it still matters today. When we talk about the contributions and the advocacy work of Black Canadians, that work is often left out. Make no mistake, Black history is Canadian history.”
Halifax lawyer and former Nova Scotia ombudsman Douglas Ruck said the apology is consequential.
“Three simple words, ‘We are sorry’, resonated,” said the son of late Canadian senator Calvin Ruck who campaigned for the all-Black regiment recognition and authored ‘The Black Battalion 1916-1920: Canada’s Best Kept Military Secret’. “It is meaningful and it’s important. Thank you for saying so. Today, we are here for them because when war broke out in 1914 and when Canada became part of that war effort, the men of the Battalion were there for us. They were not wanted, they were despised for the audacity of wanting to wear a Canadian uniform, they were denigrated and they were dismissed. But they persisted and were there for all Canadians.”
Douglas Ruck (Photo contributed)
While acknowledging the apology, Ruck said the words can’t right the wrongs.
“The wrongs will remain,” he noted. “Those wrongs have scarred us in many respects. Those wrongs are part of our history and our being. The story is important, but we must not forget the past.”
While the Battalion was a segregated unit, its leadership was predominantly White. The Battalion’s chaplain, Honourary Captain Reverend William Andrew White, was the only Black officer.
His granddaughter, Sheila White, chaired the Communications & Community Outreach Subcommittee of 22-member National Apology Advisory Committee (NAAC) set up in June 2021 to help shape the apology.
Sheila White (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
“On behalf of the White family on both sides of the Canada-U.S border, we stand tall with all other descendants as today’s honours are bestowed on our ancestors,” she said. “And although I never knew my grandpa Andrew who died in 1936, I do know he lives strong in our family line and in Canada’s fabric. What W. Andrew White stood for can guide all of us and is instructive for all Canadians, especially now.”
The Canadian government has accepted eight recommendations proposed by the NAAC.
Sylvia Parris-Drummond’s father and uncle, Joseph and William Parris respectively, were members of the Battalion that was disbanded in September 1920.
Joining at age 17, Joseph Parris didn’t share his military experience with his children. It was through Ruck’s book that she learnt of her father’s service.
Sylvia Parris-Drummond (Photo contributed)
“That the Prime Minister was there with the Defence Minister to deliver the apology was certainly good,” said the Delmore ‘Buddy’ Daye Learning Institute Chief Executive Officer who attended the ceremony. “Going forward, I would like to see the establishment of something that is in the community realm that will help address systemic racism and will be given full support for a national voice perspective. I also think that an organization like the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia should be given sustained funding to continue the outstanding work that it is doing.”
Four days earlier, the federal government unveiled a commemorative plaque at the Pictou Wharf to recognize the Battalion’s significance.
The historic unit started its military journey in the Nova Scotia town in 1916.
“It (the plaque) will remind us that the No. 2 Construction Battalion is not Black history,” said Lindsay Ruck who is an author and granddaughter of Calvin Ruck. “It is Canadian history, it is our collective history and the men of the No. 2 are proud Canadian soldiers. They fought for the right to fight and everyone gathered here today is a sign that those efforts were not in vain.”
Halifax-born actor & filmmaker Anthony Sherwood was the Master of Ceremony.
Anthony Sherwood and historian Dr. Karolyn Smardz Frost (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
“This is a great day indeed and one that I am sure the men of the No. 2 Construction Battalion would ever imagine can come,” said the Director & Co-producer of the 2016 play, ‘The Colour of Courage’, that commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Battalion’s formation. “Today is the realized dream of the men of No. 2.”
