Canadian Security Intelligence Service employees who say the agency’s British Columbia office is a toxic workplace have faced a series of hurdles in speaking out — including a law against identifying themselves or colleagues.
The Canadian Press has published an investigation into claims by the covert officers, including two who say they were sexually assaulted by the same senior colleague while on duty.
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The officers say they went public after being hindered from seeking justice by institutional secrecy and a prohibition under the CSIS Act against identifying themselves or others as covert officers, which is punishable by up to five years in prison.
But the same hurdles also represented a challenge to telling their story.
The officers who say they were assaulted filed lawsuits against the federal government, using the assumed names Jane Doe and A.B.
Jane Doe, whose lawsuit was dismissed on jurisdictional grounds, says she knows the service may fire her for going public.
“I’ve tried the internal complaint route. I’ve tried the legal route and nothing has happened. Nothing has changed. So, it almost feels like, you know, we’re backed into a corner and (going public is) the only option,” Jane Doe said.
Huda Mukbil is a former CSIS employee who was part of a 2017 lawsuit against the agency over alleged racism and sexism, that resulted in a settlement.
She said CSIS employees are trained to conform and those who complain “become the complaint.”
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