Canada’s spy agency has begun investigating their British Columbia office over “serious allegations” made by whistleblowers in which they say they were sexually assaulted and harassed by a senior officer. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) stated that the officer who was involved in the allegations was removed from the workplace. The senior officer was said to have committed several sexual assaults, including rape and harassment. In response to these claims, CSIS Director David Vigneault announced the launch of a Workplace Climate Assessment in the B.C. office, stating that a “toxic workplace” could not be tolerated.
After the allegations were made public in a report by The Canadian Press, the agency responded quickly by launching a third-party investigation and removing the implicated officer from the workplace. CSIS is currently taking action on the recommendations put forth by the investigation. The whistleblowers accused the B.C. office of being a toxic workplace, denoting abusive behavior by senior staff, including sexual assault, bullying, and harassment towards younger employees. They also stated that the internal complaints mechanism failed to provide support to those who were assaulted.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau commented on the allegations, calling them “devastating” and noting that the entire government was following up on the issues raised by the whistleblowers. It was also mentioned that whistleblowers who made the allegations remained anonymous due to laws against identifying covert officers. The employees expressed hope that by speaking out, they could bring about change within the agency, emphasizing that they lacked internal support when the incidents occurred.
The statement from CSIS emphasized the agency’s encouragement for employees who may have been victims of a crime to report it to the police. As the investigation moved forward, allegations of factual inaccuracies in The Canadian Press’ investigation were brought forward by CSIS, and the validity of the internal grievance mechanism was stated to be “validated” by a court ruling.
Furthermore, the lawyer representing a CSIS officer commented that the agency needs to undergo internal changes for the internal process to be more effective and trusted by employees. The issue of having a proper counterbalance to management was raised, with the lawyer suggesting that unionization could help provide a more balanced environment for employees. Additionally, it was acknowledged by CSIS and the courts that the internal grievance mechanism had flaws, and reforming the processes at CSIS would not be an easy task.