(Truro) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a formal apology to the descendants of 2e Saturday Construction Battalion for the treatment of Canada’s only black unit to serve in the First World War.
Posted at 8:43 am.
Updated at 2:04 p.m.
At a ceremony attended by several elected officials and community representatives from Truro, Nova Scotia, Mr. Trudeau apologized for the “horrendous” treatment of his soldiers who were victims of racism during the war.
The apology was issued after consultation with the descendants of 600 members of the 2e The construction battalion was described as heroes when Defense Minister Anita Anand announced the formal apology last March.
When hundreds of black men in Canada volunteered to fight overseas in 1914, they were turned away because they were unwanted in what was considered a white man’s war.
After two years of resistance, in 1916 the Canadian Army was given permission to establish a separate non-combatant battalion, and more than 300 enlisted men were from Nova Scotia.
Few of its members were ready for war, mainly because the regiment was repeatedly told that its help was not needed at the front and did not receive public approval to return to the country.
The Department of National Defense and the Canadian Armed Forces have reported experiencing systemic racism by males as young as 2.e The construction force creates abhorrent behavior.
Mr. Trudeau used his speech to announce it in honor of 2 peoplee Construction Battalion, a pure silver collector’s coin to be released by the Royal Canadian Mint during Black History Month next year “for Canadians across the country to participate in the celebration of his legacy”.
He invited the Canadians to learn about 2e Honoring these long-forgotten veterans of the Construction Corps and other “unwritten and untold” histories of the nation.
