CSIS is Canada’s Security Intelligence Service; its mission can be likened to its counterpart, the CIA.
Canada’s spy agency is being sued for racial and religious discrimination by a longtime employee who alleges that his Muslim faith marked him as a target for harassment, emotional abuse and even physical assaults.
Next, note the reference to the Muslim complainant as a “second class spy.” Right out front, CBC has established in the minds of the reader that this complainant is being treated as “second class” as a Muslim, but CBC makes sure to include the “technical” reference that he only “alleges” this mistreatment. When one considers the sheer number of active discrimination cases in the workplace Canada-wide (i.e. in every city and town of every province), it is peculiar that the publicly funded CBC, with a billion dollar a year taxpayer budget, would choose this one case to give completely one-sided blank check coverage.
There is significance in the identities of both the complainant (Muslim) and the accused (CSIS, which is tasked with national security, including bringing jihadists to justice). We routinely see a kind of eagerness to cover any stories that can be spun as instances of the victimization of Muslims. Whether Sameer Abadi’s complaint is true or not, the CBC decided to try CSIS in the court of public opinion; it allowed this complainant remarkable press coverage, in which Abadi defames his employer prior to the presentation of hard evidence in court. CBC should be covering the case as it unfolds professionally, with equal coverage of both sides and impartial journalistic standards; it should not be acting as a mouthpiece for Sameer Abadi against CSIS.
The Financial Times had it right in its article: Unfund the CBC, Canada’s Pravda and national enforcer of truth.
Canadian taxpayers have no say in the indiscreet activist “journalism” practiced by the CBC, which enjoys almost limitless funds with little accountability. There are countless Canadians who would welcome CBC giving them carte blanche to present their side of a lawsuit prior to the legal proceedings. No such luck for most.
“A ‘second class’ spy: Muslim CSIS agent alleges discrimination, abuse,” by Jonathon Gatehouse, CBC News, January 21, 2020:
Canada’s spy agency is being sued for racial and religious discrimination by a longtime employee who alleges that his Muslim faith marked him as a target for harassment, emotional abuse and even physical assaults.
The suit, filed in Federal Court in Ottawa last week by an intelligence analyst using the pseudonym Sameer Ebadi, claims a pattern of bullying and prejudice stretching back almost two decades that saw the man treated as a “second class citizen” within the ranks of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
“You know, it took me a long time to realize this, to see that, to begin with, anybody with [an] ethnic origin other than a Canadian-born one was a suspect…. Then you add faith and religion to that one, you’re going one step down,” Ebadi told CBC News in an exclusive interview, his voice choked with emotion. “I don’t think there is anybody in terms of the class of employees lower than the [a] practicing Muslim at the service.”
The statement of claim alleges that the analyst — who was recruited by CSIS at the beginning of the 2000s because of his Middle Eastern background and fluency in several languages — was subject to “discrimination, bullying, physical assaults, religious persecution and the intentional infliction of emotional and physical harm” by his fellow spies, including attacks while he prayed in the privacy of his office. And it contends that agency managers “knowingly participated” in the misconduct or “stood idly by” while it happened.
As a result of what the suit called an “irretrievably hostile” workplace, the analyst claims he suffered extreme stress, which contributed to the breakdown of his marriage and left him with a host of psychological and medical ailments including severe anxiety, depression, hypertension and insomnia. He has been on sick leave since early 2018.
The suit seeks a total of $750,000 in damages, and further compensation for past and future loss of income. It names five CSIS employees, all also under pseudonyms, and David Vigneault, the director and public face of the spy agency. None of the allegations have been tested in court.
In an emailed statement, John Townsend, head of media relations for CSIS, declined to discuss the specifics of the claim. But he said in a statement that the agency takes any allegation of inappropriate behaviour, including harassment and discrimination, very seriously. He said the spy service has been working hard since Vigneault took over the reins in mid-2017 to make improvements to its “already robust” internal accountability measures, including a new code of conduct, town halls and a “respect campaign.”
“Our employees are always encouraged to report incidents of harassment, discrimination or bullying without fear of reprisal, and all of our managers are required to act promptly on any issues brought to their attention and, if necessary, request a formal investigation,” the statement said. “We make every effort to ensure that all employees feel respected and valued.”
Under Canada’s Security of Information Act, revealing the identity of an intelligence operative is a criminal offence. CBC News knows the analyst only by his alias, although his lawyer has vouched for his client’s employment and position.
Ebadi said in his interview he was initially excited to work for CSIS and to be given the opportunity to use his knowledge and skills to help protect his adopted homeland. But in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the way he was viewed by his colleagues began to shift, and everyday interactions were tainted by hostility and fear. Eventually, he says the work culture became toxic, with his loyalties constantly under scrutiny from fellow employees and the bosses in his Western Canada office.
Under surveillance
Once while out driving with his then-infant child in the back seat, Ebadi noticed he was being closely followed by another vehicle. “After a couple of intersections … he is still coming. So I tried to evade. I increased my speed. I went to the highway. He did the same thing,” Ebadi said. “I wasn’t sure if this person who is following me is an adversary, somebody who wants to harm me … because we were told that you are at risk all the time.”
Ebadi provided details of the high-speed chase to CSIS security officers, including the make and licence number of the other vehicle. But when there was no followup, he suspected he’d been tailed by members of his own team rather than a foe. Later, after his own car began to experience electrical problems, Ebadi says his mechanic found a mysterious GPS tracking device that had been hidden in the engine compartment and was draining the batter….