Rights group urges defence minister to turn cases of racism in the ranks over to police

One of the country's leading human rights groups is urgingDefence MinisterHarjit Sajjan to turn all suspected acts of racism, white supremacy and hateful conduct within the Canadian Armed Forces over to a specialized task force of military police officersorthe RCMPfor investigation.

The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center laid down a series of markers for reform during a teleconference meeting last weekwith Sajjan.Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, the centre's director ofits campaign against anti-Semitism, said the militaryneeds to take decisive, independent action to stop what appears to be a growingproblem of intolerance in some quarters of the military.

The meeting which included Rabbi Meyer May, the executive director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center took place the day after CBC News published an investigative account of how a Canadian Ranger was allowed to keep servingeven though he was openly active in two far-right organizations.

"Change needs to happen. It needs to be decisive," Kirzner-Roberts told CBC News. "We need to end this culture of tolerance for neo-Nazis and neo-Nazi activities within our Armed Forces and it needs to be done now."

The meeting with Sajjanwascalled originallyto discuss the Royal Canadian Navy's decision to reinstate a Calgary-based reservist sailor with neo-Nazi ties. Kirzner-Roberts said the publication of the CBC News story about Erik Myggland fuelled a broader, more urgent discussion about how the military responds to suspected cases of extremism.

"We're interested in seeing action," she said. "We're interested in seeing our leaders taking decisive action."

The centre put forward three proposals that take a step beyond the Canadian military's new policy framework, released this summer. That frameworkis intended to address hateful conduct and the growing number of reports of military members affiliated with extremist groups.

There should besome kind of body within the military that proactively investigates potential cases of white supremacist or extremistactivity, Kirzner-Robertssaid.

A matter of discipline, or a job for the police?

The centre alsowants to see the military adopt a policy of immediately sending allcases of allegedwhite supremacist activity to military police or theRCMP for investigation.

When instances of extremist activityhave surfaced in the Canadian Forces in the past, the reflex response of the Department of National Defencehasbeen tohandlesuch matters under military administrative and disciplinary policy.

By treating it as a human resources issue, Kirzner-Roberts said, "they are effectively shielding members from prosecution for criminal activity."

Instead, she said, the chain of command shouldbe turning such cases over tolaw enforcement at the outset.

If military police or the RCMP do not believe a crime has taken place, she said, the case can be handled as a matter of discipline butanyonefound guilty of hateful conductshould be ejectedfrom the militaryautomatically.

In his responsetoCBC'sinvestigation of far-right activity within the Rangers, Sajjan said he was planning to take strong actionbut did not define what that meant.

In a statement, Sajjan confirmed hismeeting with the Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and said he assured them he was working to put "the appropriate measures in place so we are able to respond quickly to hateful conduct, no matter where it might be found."

That message is underminedsomewhatby the fact that Ranger at the centre of the CBC News investigation still has not been released from the military.

Erik Myggland never hid his association with the Three Percenter movement, a far-right militia and paramilitary group, and the Soldiers of Odin, an anti-immigrant and white supremacist group founded in Kemi, Finland, in October 2015.It was all over his social media.

Myggland was interviewed by military counterintelligencebut wasallowed to continue serving, even though he posted anti-government rants one of which referredto Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a "treasonous bastard" two years ago.

Sajjan said people with extremist and anti-government views don't belong in the military.