Chief of the Defence Staff General Jennie Carignan at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa in January.

The head of Canada’s military formally apologized Thursday to the Canadian Armed Forces for the service’s history of racist discrimination and vowed to improve the situation for racialized CAF members.

Chief of the Defence Staff General Jennie Carignan teared up as she delivered a rare, emotional speech to the rank and file in Ottawa Thursday afternoon. In it, she apologized to every armed forces member who has experienced racial discrimination.

“We all know that an apology that is not accompanied by a tangible effort to address our failures, to remedy wrongs … would be hollow and without real meaning,” she said.

“I renew our commitment to ensure we remain vigilant in precluding

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