A Canadian fire department had to deny allegations of racism and apologize after images circulated of individuals who attended the department's Halloween party dressed as members of the KKK.
Four people, said to be unaffiliated with the fire department, were seen wearing white sheets with the KKK's signature pointed hood in photos shared across social media, as reported by CBC News.
Deputy Fire Chief Wade Gouthro of the North Sydney Firefighters Club wrote in a Facebook post following the incident that the incident "is not who we are or what we stand for."
"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. I can also tell you to be referred to as racists hurts bad. We are all one on this earth and equal in every way," Gouthro wrote.
The individuals in the costumes also walked in with a cross after being admitted by volunteers, which was later taken away by volunteers who also asked them to remove their hoods, although Fire Chief Lloyd MacIntosh told Global News that some refused.
"A mistake was made," MacIntosh told Global News. "They were allowed in, they shouldn't have been."
Jason MacLean, a Black man whose father used to work for the fire department, told BBC Radio's Mainstreet, "What they did was hurtful to people and ... many would argue hateful. It indeed was — and this is where people need to not shy away — it was a racist act."
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