When Canada含羞草研究社檚 spy chief wrote a secret letter to the public safety minister last December 含羞草研究社� the week after a report emerged that two young women in the service had been sexually assaulted by a senior colleague 含羞草研究社� it came with a warning.
David Vigneault, then director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, told Dominic LeBlanc that he expected 含羞草研究社渕ore cases to surface in the coming weeks,含羞草研究社� and that he had to be 含羞草研究社渢ransparent含羞草研究社� about this with the minister
含羞草研究社�(We) will continue to make the difficult decisions required to make a safe workplace,含羞草研究社� he wrote, saying that the report by The Canadian Press had left staff 含羞草研究社渞eeling.含羞草研究社�
Vigneault, who stepped down in July, had reason to be concerned.
In the days after the report was published, Vigneault含羞草研究社檚 staff compiled tables for him showing there had been 49 alleged 含羞草研究社渙ccurrences含羞草研究社� of workplace harassment and violence at CSIS since 2021.
Only eight of these were deemed to have been 含羞草研究社渇ounded.含羞草研究社�
The Dec. 9 letter to LeBlanc, stamped 含羞草研究社渟ecret,含羞草研究社� and the tables in a Dec. 4 email were among documents provided to The Canadian Press in response to an access-to-information request.
The documents show how Vigneault and his staff responded to The Canadian Press report published on Nov. 30, in which CSIS officers made allegations of rape, bullying and harassment in the service含羞草研究社檚 B.C. physical surveillance office.
The statistics about workplace sexual harassment and violence were compiled as part of Vigneault含羞草研究社檚 preparations for an all-staff town hall meeting about the allegations on Dec. 5.
The tables and an explanation provided by CSIS show that 20 of the 49 含羞草研究社渙ccurrences含羞草研究社� since 2021/2022 were ongoing cases. Of the 29 that were 含羞草研究社渞esolved,含羞草研究社� three were withdrawn, while two ended in conciliation, six through an investigation and none through negotiation.
Eighteen, meanwhile, were resolved through the implementation of recommendations reviewed by an occupational health and safety committee.
The numbers were not announced to the 3,000-plus staff who attended the town hall meeting in person and virtually.
But in May, CSIS released an annual public report that said there were 24 ongoing harassment investigations in 2023, depicting this as a sign of success.
含羞草研究社�(A)lthough some would use this metric to criticize CSIS, we believe it is indicative of the advancements we have made to improve our workplace culture, as more employees are now placing their faith and confidence in CSIS含羞草研究社� internal grievance process,含羞草研究社� wrote Ren茅e de Bellefeuille, the service含羞草研究社檚 chief human resources officer.
That report did not describe how frequently cases were resolved to the satisfaction of complainants.
CSIS spokesperson Eric Balsam said in an emailed statement that some complaints took longer than normal to complete.
含羞草研究社淥n occasion, a notice of occurrence may take longer to resolve given other mitigating circumstances that may have an impact on the process,含羞草研究社� Balsam said. 含羞草研究社淔or example, the temporary absence of either party, or availability of investigators.含羞草研究社�
Several employees were suspended between 2020 and 2024 and two were terminated, but Balsam said CSIS is 含羞草研究社渘ot in a position to reveal the nature of the conduct for which the employees were suspended and/or terminated because providing details for such a small number of files could breach privacy obligations.含羞草研究社�
Balsam added that the service has 含羞草研究社渟een a higher number of grievances, complaints and conduct cases since the beginning of 2024.含羞草研究社�
The tables list four occurrences as sexual harassment and violence and 45 cases as non-sexual.
In the December town hall meeting, Vigneault told staff the senior officer accused of rape had left the service the day before.
The man含羞草研究社檚 accusers have said he abused them in CSIS vehicles while on covert missions, in one case losing sight of a surveillance target because he allegedly drove to a car park to rape his CSIS partner.
The officers said they could not go to police because they feared breaching the CSIS Act by identifying themselves and their alleged attacker as covert officers, an offence with a penalty of up to five years in prison.
Vigneault含羞草研究社檚 letter to LeBlanc says he told staff there existed an 含羞草研究社渁uthority and process to report a crime to the police.含羞草研究社�
A former CSIS employee who worked in a supervisory capacity in Ontario said her harassment complaint against a high-level managerwas among those that remain outstanding.
She said she also filed a complaint on behalf of another employee as a witness but has not been contacted in the two years since it was submitted to CSIS.
The former supervisor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the CSIS Act含羞草研究社檚 prohibition against identification, has since left the agency.
She said in an interview that the behaviour of the new senior manager prompted the group to 含羞草研究社渃ome to me with concerns.含羞草研究社�
含羞草研究社淭hen people started coming with more formalized complaints,含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淚 had to tell people that either you have to report something or I have to report something.含羞草研究社�
She said the manager was 含羞草研究社渉ighly problematic,含羞草研究社� gossiping about employees, revealing highly personal information and 含羞草研究社渕aligning含羞草研究社� peoples含羞草研究社� character behind their backs.
The former supervisor said she knew formalizing complaints against someone well-connected in the service would be like signing her own 含羞草研究社渃areer death warrant.含羞草研究社�
含羞草研究社淚含羞草研究社檓 in a position where I have to say something and in saying something, I含羞草研究社檓 probably not going to be believed,含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淣o one was going to want to touch me after that.含羞草研究社�
She said that since filing the complaint in 2022, she had left the service for an unrelated job.
含羞草研究社淚t was making me sick,含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淚 couldn含羞草研究社檛 bear the weight of it anymore and I thought I had nowhere else to go.含羞草研究社�
She said she believed the complaint process had 含羞草研究社渦tterly stalled,含羞草研究社� and she had not received updates as required. This could be due to the 含羞草研究社渟low machinery of government,含羞草研究社� she said.
含羞草研究社楶ROBLEMATIC BEHAVIOUR含羞草研究社� IN CSIS OFFICE
The documents obtained by The Canadian Press also show how CSIS responded to the turmoil in the B.C. surveillance office.
In addition to the two officers who said they were sexually assaulted, two other officers supported their claims and said bullying and harassment were rife in the office.
The documents show the service commissioned a 含羞草研究社渨orkplace climate assessment含羞草研究社� for the office last year. A Nov. 22 letter from B.C.含羞草研究社檚 assistant director general 含羞草研究社� whose name is redacted 含羞草研究社� says the assessment followed allegations of 含羞草研究社減roblematic behaviour with respect to inappropriate conduct, harassment, leadership issues etc., that has resulted in a perceived toxic work environment.含羞草研究社�
But the assessment did not look at the complaints of sexual assault and other wrongdoing made by the two women officers against their senior colleague, who was decades older than them, the documents show.
The assessment含羞草研究社檚 terms of reference say the process focused instead on the 含羞草研究社渃urrent work environment,含羞草研究社� and it would 含羞草研究社渘ot consider information from employees that was previously provided under a separate formal process.含羞草研究社�
A redacted copy of the assessment dated Jan. 22 said staff indicated 含羞草研究社渁 workplace culture that is perceived as fairly positive (with some definite exceptions).含羞草研究社�
The unit含羞草研究社檚 含羞草研究社渕ain shortcomings含羞草研究社� involved the handling of complaints, 含羞草研究社渆specially those related to inappropriate conduct like disrespect, bullying, harassment etc.含羞草研究社�
含羞草研究社淭here is a general sense that accountability is significantly lacking and that the enforcement of policies and procedures is often weak,含羞草研究社� the assessors wrote.
The assessment found the unit was understaffed and there had been 含羞草研究社渁 relatively high turnover recently, especially with respect to female members leaving the unit,含羞草研究社� causing a 含羞草研究社渄istinct gender imbalance.含羞草研究社�
It said the workplace was 含羞草研究社渕ale dominated含羞草研究社� and there was an 含羞草研究社渋ntergenerational divide含羞草研究社� between staff.
However, the assessment said staff 含羞草研究社渟trongly disagreed含羞草研究社� the workplace was 含羞草研究社渢oxic,含羞草研究社� but there was a 含羞草研究社減erceived lack of leadership含羞草研究社� which contributed to 含羞草研究社渉ighly ineffective conflict and complaint handling approaches.含羞草研究社�
The two B.C. officers who said they were sexually assaulted lodged anonymous lawsuits in B.C. Supreme Court.
One was dismissed last September on technical grounds that the officer had not exhausted the internal CSIS complaints process, which was 含羞草研究社渙ngoing.含羞草研究社� She said this week that she had 含羞草研究社渘ever been told (by CSIS) that it was still an ongoing investigation at any point.含羞草研究社�
The officer said previously that a report for CSIS with a protected security classification had concluded her rape complaint was unfounded on the balance of probabilities.
The court file for the other officer has been inactive since it was filed in June 2023, with no public response filed by CSIS. Her accusations were investigated by CSIS as part of the other woman含羞草研究社檚 complaint.
Matt Malone, an assistant law professor at Thompson Rivers University who specializes in workplace investigations, reviewed the workplace assessment, and said its language suggested 含羞草研究社渟ystem-wide problems with leadership含羞草研究社� in the unit.
含羞草研究社淭his is very much a situation of where there含羞草研究社檚 smoke, there含羞草研究社檚 fire,含羞草研究社� he said. 含羞草研究社淭his workplace assessment is indicative of deeper rooted problems in the service, and you can see that there is an admission that most parties disagreed with the characterization of 含羞草研究社榯oxic work environment,含羞草研究社� but there含羞草研究社檚 very uniform and very consistent discussion around the shortcomings of leadership.含羞草研究社�
Vigneault announced on July 4 that he was retiring from the service after seven years at the helm.
The former Ontario CSIS supervisor said she lodged her complaint in 2022 out of a 含羞草研究社渟trong sense of duty and responsibility,含羞草研究社� hoping to trigger not only a change in the individual, but also 含羞草研究社渂igger change within the organization around leadership.含羞草研究社�
Almost two years later, she said she had little faith such top-down change would happen.
含羞草研究社淵ou can barely remember what you had for breakfast yesterday. Who含羞草研究社檚 going to remember what was said or not said in a meeting once upon a time?含羞草研究社� she said.
含羞草研究社淚nvestigations are still ongoing, but when you have five or six complaints filed against one manager all in under a year and you continue to promote that person and give them incredible, incredible career opportunities, I don含羞草研究社檛 actually think the organization has been ready to accept responsibility.含羞草研究社�
含羞草研究社淭he leadership were born and raised in that same organization. They don含羞草研究社檛 know anything different,含羞草研究社� she added. 含羞草研究社淗ow do you change that? I don含羞草研究社檛 know.含羞草研究社�
