The Royal Canadian Legion has released a new policy barring any of its chapters from affiliating with hate groups.
The policy comes a month after CBC News revealed a chapter in northwestern Alberta counted members of the far-right group Soldiers of Odin among its ranks.
The Soldiers of Odin Canada are an offshoot of a neo-Nazi group with the same name in Finland.
About a half-dozen members of the group signed up with the Legion in Grande Prairie, Alta. The Legion also rented its hall to the group for its community Easter dinner, CBC News found.
In response, the national Legion said it launched an investigation and would update its policy on hate groups.
The new policy, released Monday, says the Legion “does not support or tolerate any group or organization whose views or actions are contrary to our values and those of our country.
“As such, no Branch or Command within the Legion may affiliate itself in any manner whatsoever with a group or organization that promotes or is known to promote hatred or violence due to ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or any other social determinant.”
The Soldiers of Odin, founded by a Finnish white supremacist and neo-Nazi in 2015, is known globally for its reputation as an anti-Islam and anti-migrant group.
The national Legion executive will determine what constitutes a hate group. The policy then leaves it up to the branch executive to “use their best judgment to ensure policy compliance.”
Noncompliance with the policy is punishable with expulsion from the Legion.
The Legion did not reply Friday night to a request for comment.