The department of National Defence says the Canadian military needs “critical self-reflection” on racism, privilege, and “white fragility.”.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the Anti-Racism Toolkit shows soldiers, sailors, and aircrew how to examine “ways that whiteness and white superiority become embedded in policies and processes.”. Canadian Armed Forces membersCourtesy YouTube .“Racism and discrimination still manifests in our workplaces through bias, privilege, policies, and power dynamics,” said a companion Guide to Courageous Conversations on Racism and Discrimination..“The defence team must put compassionate effort into practice to actively become an anti-racist organization. We all have to do the work in shifting mindsets and promoting an inclusive workplace and acknowledge that together we’re different.”.“Critical self-reflection is key in order to understand and unpack seen and unseen assumptions and biases we have,” said the report..“Ask racially and culturally grounded questions about yourself to increase awareness of seen (consciously known), unseen (unknown), and unforeseen (anticipated) issues.”.“Consider how history and politics shape or influence your personal experiences and that of colleagues within your organization,” wrote staff..“Engaging in dialogue is the first step to understanding one another. The goal of these conversations is to raise awareness and consciousness with hopes that a deeper understanding and empathy will lead to a commitment to shift mindsets and behaviours.”.The military in a 2017 policy Strong, Secure, Engaged set quotas for the recruitment of visible minorities. Military targets state that by 2026 the quota must increase from 8% to 12%..The Royal Canadian Air Force Journal, in a 2020 commentary, said the higher quota was “almost impossible to achieve” due to a lack of interest in military careers by minority groups..The Anti-Racism Toolkit “is meant to increase self-awareness and situational awareness in order to raise and address difficult or uncomfortable issues.” .Military members must “practice active listening,” “assume good intentions,” and “recognize people with good intentions can make statements that hurt or offend.”. royal military college .Anti-racism measures included recognition of “white privilege” meaning “unearned power, benefits, advantages, access, or opportunities based on membership in a dominant group” and “white fragility” meaning “a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable for white people triggering a range of defensive moves” including “fear, guilt and anger, and behaviours such as argumentation or silence.”.“Some audiences can walk away believing our healthcare, criminal justice, or education systems work fine and therefore differing outcomes exist because indigenous, black, and other racialized groups are doing something wrong,” said the Toolkit. “Know the counter-narratives.”.“Understand what is happening in people’s heads when we try to start a productive conversation,” said the toolkit..“A few common themes include ‘racism is largely over or dying out over time,’ ‘people of colour are obsessed with race,’ ‘alleging discrimination is itself racist and divisive,’ ‘claiming discrimination is playing the race card or it’s opportunistic,’ ‘if we can address class inequality racial inequality will take care of itself.’”.Defence department polling has found that most visible minorities consider the Canadian Armed Forces a “last resort” as a career option..“They tend to see it as an oblique and arduous pathway to success,” pollsters wrote in a 2014 report Visible Minorities Recruitment and the Canadian Armed Forces. “As newcomers, they did not immigrate to Canada and endure hardship in order that their children should join the military.”
