Former soldier upset with $150-million class-action racism settlement

A former soldier who helped start a class-action lawsuit claiming systemic racism in the Canadian Armed Forces is opting out of the final agreement that has been approved in Federal Court.

Wallace Fowler, from Bible Hill, N.S., said he cannot support the $150-million settlement that proposes individual payments up to $35,000.

"That's a joke," said Fowler, who is Black. "It upset me because I've been fighting this 21 years."

Fowler, now 51, was one of the original plaintiffs who brought forward complaints of racial discrimination and harassment in the lawsuit that started in December 2016.

He said he did it to find a way to deal with what he saw as a systemic problem that was never addressed when he served. He said he experienced racist slurs and jokes, and mistreatment, among other serious complaints.

"I suffer PTSD. Not even outside the country in the line of fire," he said. "I suffered at the hands of people at my own base."

Fowler won an award as top student during basic training after joining the military in 1997 but that remains the only highlight of his three years of service. He was discharged in 2004 because of the post-traumatic stress disorder he said was diagnosed as a result of the racism he endured at the hands of fellow servicemen and women.

"You can't treat me the way you treat me and then give me money and say, OK, you're looked after," he said.

Fowler said he has started his own court action.

The attorney general has filed a statement of defence against that case.

Apology offered to eligible class members

As part of the class-action settlement agreement, approved in Federal Court in January, the military acknowledges the harm suffered by class members who have experienced racial discrimination dating back to 1985.

The settlement includes an option for a personalized letter of apology to eligible class members signed by the chief of the defence staff.

But that does not satisfy Fowler or Rubin Coward, another African Nova Scotian who is not impressed with the settlement.

"The message I receive from this is: 'People of colour, racially visible, Black, Indigenous, Inuit, don't bother fighting because at the end of the day, we're not going to make it worth your while,'" said Coward, 68.

Coward, who served more than 14 years in the air force and became a sergeant, also now deals with complex PTSD after what he went through.

"To be accosted, affronted, insulted, discriminated by people supposed to be colleagues and friends, it's very disheartening," Coward said.   

While he said he's unhappy with the agreement and still hears from current members about racism within the ranks, he intends to accept the payment because he was a part of the case for years.

Jean-Pierre Robillard, another of the original plaintiffs, takes a different view of the settlement.

The 49-year-old Black man, who is of Haitian descent and now lives in New Brunswick, is hopeful the plan laid out in the settlement to change the military's culture will make a difference.

"It's about us protecting the future of the Canadian Armed Forces," Robillard said.

The legal firm that initiated the action, Stewart McKelvey, said the payments to eligible class members are not meant to make up for loss of earnings but are referred to in the settlement as an acknowledgment of harms and "indignities of racism and its effects."

The "systemic relief measures" within the agreement are central to laying out a plan of action to try to eliminate racism and change the culture, said Scott Campbell, a partner in the firm.

The firm said it is aware Fowler has initiated his own action, which it said he is free to do.

Culture change already underway, DND says

The Department of National Defence said in addition to implementing measures agreed to in the final settlement, it has already introduced a range of policies to try to eradicate racism and discrimination in the Forces.

In a statement to CBC News, it said an unprecedented effort was launched in 2021 to evolve the culture. 

That followed "multiple external reviews, which have exposed troubling gaps between DND/CAF stated values and ethics, and the lived experiences of Defence Team members," the statement said. 

However, Fowler said he thinks the best way forward is through a public inquiry.

"A public inquiry will, let's say, undress the skeletons. It will bring people out and it will make people accountable for their actions."

He would like to have closure and get on with his life but feels he has to keep going after what he started, he said.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.