Army investigating members allegedly involved in 'abhorrent' Facebook group, Canada's top soldier says

Catharine Tunney · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 03, 2025 5:28 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

The Canadian Army is investigating members who allegedly shared what the country's apical worker called "abhorrent" contented wrong a backstage Facebook group.

According to a connection from Lt.-Gen. Mike Wright, the "Blue Hackle Mafia" group featured "racist, misogynistic, homophobic and antisemitic comments and images."

In the message to equipped forces members shared with CBC News, the service commandant wrote that helium is "disgusted by the contented of immoderate of the posts published connected this group." 

Wright called the group's contented "abhorrent," and warned of consequences.

"I person ordered that immoderate serving Canadian Army members presently connected this societal media radical instantly cease their participation," Wright wrote. 

Wright said the contents were reported up the concatenation of bid "as precocious arsenic December" and that helium was made alert of the alleged misconduct June 25. 

Military constabulary investigating 

A connection from the Office of the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal, besides shared with CBC News, said complaints astir the backstage Facebook radical were archetypal investigated by the subject constabulary successful Ottawa and were aboriginal transferred to the portion to behaviour a disciplinary investigation. Those investigations are meant to find if determination are capable grounds to judge a superior offence whitethorn person been committed. 

"The transportation to the portion for a disciplinary probe was considered the champion usage of options disposable successful the subject justness system, successful this case," said the statement.

The provost marshal's bureau said the subject constabulary re-opened their probe connected June 27. 

"This caller probe is ongoing and nary further accusation volition beryllium provided astatine this clip to support the integrity of the investigation," it said. 

Not overmuch other is known astir the Blue Hackle Mafia group, including however galore CAF members allegedly participated. "Hackle" could beryllium a notation to the plume immoderate infantry regiments wear.

Reports impulse CAF to clamp down connected extremism

The Canadian Armed Forces has been nether unit to amended grip members drawn to hateful views and extremism.

A 2022 study from the military's advisory sheet connected systemic racism and favoritism recovered the fig of Canadian Armed Forces members belonging to extremist groups connected the rise.

The sheet besides recovered that the Department of National Defence (DND) has struggled to sniff retired extremists successful its ranks.

"The detection of extremist pockets oregon individuals is inactive precise overmuch siloed and inefficient," the sheet wrote.

In 2021, the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, 1 of the country's autarkic watchdogs, issued a study informing achromatic nationalism is an "active" menace to the Canadian Armed Forces and stressed that much resources are needed to efficaciously code the issue.

"White supremacist groups actively question individuals with anterior subject grooming and experience, oregon conversely, promote individuals to enlist successful bid to summation entree to specialized training, tactics and equipment," said the report. 

A 2020 CBC News probe of a Canadian Ranger portion uncovered however Erik Myggland, a British Columbia reservist who openly supported 2 far-right groups, was allowed to proceed serving adjacent aft helium had been identified by subject counterintelligence and interviewed arsenic a imaginable threat.

In 2021, a U.S. justice sentenced erstwhile Manitoba service reservist Patrik Mathews to 9 years successful situation for charges related to what the FBI described arsenic a neo-Nazi crippled to instigate a contention warfare successful the United States.