The head of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), General Jennie Carignan, gave a tearful apology Thursday in Ottawa, Ontario, for “systemic racism” officials claimed affected past and current military members.

Carignan said , “For way too long First Nations, Inuit, Métis, Black, Asian and other racialized members of the CAF faced systemic barriers that limited their ability to serve, contribute and thrive as equal members and too often mistreated and even abused at the hands of their fellow members,” according to CBC.

A video clip showing a portion of Carignan’s speech caught the moments she became emotional over the apology, stating officials were “confronting a painful truth”:

“I acknowledge we failed you… We didn’t create an environment where you could serve your country to the highe

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