Canadian spies accuse bosses of homophobia

Ottawa, July 15: Five agents and analysts at Canada’s spy service are suing their bosses with allegations of homophobia, racism and Islamophobia, the latest highprofile accusations of bad behaviour to hit Canadian security forces.

The group of employees filed a $27.7 million lawsuit on Thursday against the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), saying they had been bullied for more than a decade.

“CSIS is a workplace rife with discrimination, harassment, bullying and abuse of authority, in the which the tone set by management, namely to mock, abuse, humiliate and threaten employees, has permeated the workforce,” said the lawsuit.

Last November, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police offered an apology to female officers and civilian members and settled claims of harassment, discrimination and sexual abuse made in two long-running court cases.

The Canadian armed forces have experienced similar issues for years.

In 2015, after an investigation uncovered widespread sexual misconduct and hostility towards minorities and women, the new chief of the defense staff said such behaviour “must stopnow.” CSIS director David Vigneault said the agency took allegations of inappropriate behaviour very seriously.

“CSIS does not tolerate harassment, discrimination or bullying under any circumstances,” he said in a statement on Friday, while declining to comment on the specific allegations.

CSIS, which employs 3,300 people, has suffered a number of problems since it was created in 1984. Last November, a court declared it had illegally kept data collected during investigations and threatened sanctions.

— Reuters