OTTAWA—Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says he trusts the Canadian Armed Forces chain of command to deal with any issues of right-wing extremism in their ranks.

Sajjan’s comments come one day after the Star reported that Gen. Jonathan Vance, Canada’s chief of defence staff, frankly acknowledged in an interview that some Forces members harbour right-wing extremist views.

“I trust in the Canadian Armed Forces leadership and the chain of command all the way through to make sure everybody does their part. That’s how the military functions,” Sajjan told reporters via teleconference from Mexico.

“Any type of (negative) behaviour, if it is found, it will be dealt with.”

In an interview with the Star published Monday, Vance said while extremist values have no place in the Canadian Forces, he can’t guarantee those who harbour them don’t find their way into the military.

“Because (right-wing extremism) is not as visible, not as many complaints (are) coming from inside the Forces about it. It’s quite easy to hide,” Vance told the Star in August.

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“If you go away privately and try to associate (with these groups), it’s like joining a baseball team. You go do that and nobody knows you’re on a baseball team. But unfortunately it’s perpetuating hateful ideas.”

Vance said that he believes only a small number of Canadian Forces personnel associate with far-right groups, but said he’s not aware of any internal assessment to confirm that belief.

When asked if a more formal investigation was required, Sajjan said that he was confident Vance is keeping a close eye on the issue.

On Tuesday, the Star reached out to Liberal MP Stephen Fuhr, who chairs the House of Commons’ national defence committee, and Sen. Gwen Boniface, the chair of the Senate’s committee on national security and defence. Neither were available to speak.

But Liberal MP Julie Dzerowicz, who sits on the House defence committee, said she intends to bring the issue up with her committee colleagues.

“The rise of nationalists, white supremacists and alt-right hate groups is cause for concern here in Canada,” said Dzerowicz Tuesday.

“I welcome both Gen. Vance’s comments, as well as the RCMP commissioner, Brenda Lucki’s comments, that basically shows that the leadership in both of their forces are taking this issue very seriously.”

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“I haven’t had a chance to speak to the chair about this specific issue, the issue of how we address members of hate groups in our armed forces, but I think it’s an important one and I think it’s one I’d like to address with my colleagues,” Dzerowicz said.

Neither Conservative MP James Bezan nor NDP MP Randall Garrison, the two opposition vice chairs on the committee, responded to the Star’s interview request.