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The pictures were re-posted on social media by Hayden Woodley, who got his doctorate at Western University and is professor of business at the University of Prince Edward Island, after he came across them online.

“I think sometimes you expect or just assume that this stuff doesn’t happen anymore or that it wouldn’t happen here in Canada, but that’s not the case,” said Woodley.

He said he decided to share the images as a way to educate people about the inappropriateness of some of these costumes and their meaning, which he believes is the only way to bring an end to these practices.

“People being quiet about these things and just trying to hush these things is part of the problem, not the solution,” he said.

“I would be just as at fault as anybody else if I saw those pictures and didn’t say anything about it, so the more we can communicate and share this information, the more we can prevent these things from happening again.”

While hosted at its branch, the Legion said the party was a private event, which limited their ability to control people’s costumes.

“We at the Royal Canadian Legion do not condone or encourage any form of bias, racism or bigotry,” Jeffery said. “We regret that anything like this has happened within our doors and will do our best to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”

Though some people may see incidents like this as harmless, an expert in race relations says they demonstrate how certain views about race are still prevalent in our society, which can fuel both hate crimes and other offensive and racially-motivated actions.