A Canadian firefighters’ Halloween party sparked outrage when a group of four people appeared to be dressed as members of the Ku Klux Klan, as white robes and pointed hats made up the racist costume.
The masked party-goers walked into the North Sydney Firefighters Club in North Sydney, Nova Scotia for the holiday celebration with one holding a makeshift cross on Oct. 26, according to video obtained by CBC News.
Fire Chief Lloyd MacIntosh said the unidentified individuals, who were not club members, were admitted into the hall by volunteers working the door and were allowed to stay after the cross was confiscated and they were told to remove their hoods, Global News reported.
“A mistake was made,” MacIntosh said. “They were allowed in, they shouldn’t have been.”
The firefighters’ club offered a similar answer when pressed by outraged social media users for the blatantly racist costumes.
“We made a mistake!,” The North Sydney FireFighters Club said in a Facebook post Sunday evening.
“We apologize to any and all of our community who were offended or hurt by our lack of actions. These four individuals are in no way, shape or form associated with our organization,” the post read. “We promise to be better in the future.”
Tia Upshaw, the CEO and Founder of Black Women in Excellence was dumbfounded to watch the robe-clad partiers show up to a fire hall in 2024.
“Ku Klux Klan, KKK, I don’t care what rock you come from under, everyone knows what they stand for who they were and what it represents for Black individuals,” she told the outlet.
Some users weren’t thrilled with the response from the club that hosted the event calling it a “pathetic apology.”
“This is not a mistake, this is blatant racism. They should have never been let in. Apologies are meaningless with no actions behind them,” one comment read.
“What they did was hurtful to people and … many would argue hateful,” Jason MacLean told the outlet. “It indeed was — and this is where people need to not shy away — it was a racist act.”
MacLean, whose father worked with the fire department in North Sydney, called for its members to take “anti-racism” training.
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North Sydney Deputy Fire Chief Wade Gouthro stated the “situation” wasn’t what the fire department stood for and he decided to speak out after being contacted and messaged throughout the day.
“I have been reading your comments and to be honest I have been very reluctant to post just because I don’t want to add fuel to the fire so to speak,” Gouthro said on Facebook. “I can tell you this, the members of North Sydney and myself are very sorry from the bottom of our hearts and we ask for your forgiveness.
“We would certainly never intentionally hurt or insult anyone regardless of race, color, orientation or religion. We spend all of our time trying to do right by the community and are here to do all we can for anyone,” he added.
Gouthro, who was working the night of the party and not in attendance — but had been to the annual gathering over the last 29 years — says he wasn’t making excuses for the unidentified individuals.
“When we have Halloween dances you never know what you are going to see come through the door. Most times we think ah it is a costume without really thinking of the big picture or the past it represents,” he said.
The Cape Breton Regional Police are investigating the incident to see if a crime took place at the party.
