Military faces calls to identify extremism

Training urged as new alleged case probed

OTTAWA • The Canadian Forces is facing calls to drop what experts say is a reactive approach to racism and hate in the ranks, and instead launch a proactive campaign to root out extremist beliefs and behaviours.

The demand, including more training to identify and weed out members of hate groups, follows an internal military report and several high- profile incidents linking some service personnel to right-wing extremists.

The most recent case includes separate RCMP and military investigations this week into a reservist in Manitoba on suspicions of being a recruiter for a militant neo- Nazi group. The military has said it is investigating Master Cpl. Patrik Mathews, who joined the reserves in 2010.

No arrests have been made or charges laid. Police would only say that they raided a house in Beausejour, Man., on Monday and seized a number of weapons.

The military already uses interviews and background checks to screen recruits for hateful beliefs and behaviour, defence officials say. New recruits must also sign

difference in tattoos between a kolovrat and ... sonnenrad.

an agreement stating they understand such behaviour is forbidden.

“Investigations or corrective measures are made on a case- by- case basis and initiated when there is reason to suspect inappropriate behaviour exists,” said Defence Department spokeswoman Jessica Lamirande.

Experts, however, question the degree to which recruiters, officers and other personnel actually know what to look for.

“I don’t know what kind of education has been given to commanding officers,” said Bernie Farber, chair of the Canadian Anti-hate Network, who has been studying links between right- wing groups and the military.

“I don’t know if a commanding officer can tell the difference in tattoos between a kolovrat and a sonnenrad” — circular symbols that reference different neo- Nazi groups — “and what they potentially mean.”

In 2015 former Supreme Court justice Marie Deschamps concluded the existing training program, implemented in 1998 after the Somalia inquiry, had “lost its lustre.” Farber said the military’s education and training on racism and hate pales in comparison to some police forces.

“If we’re doing it with police, as we should be, why would we even hesitate to think about doing exactly the same thing with the Canadian military?”