Claims she was treated as a potential threat by colleagues because of her faith
A former intelligence officer has said she experience discrimination because of her faith while was still a member of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, according to a report.
The treatment posed a national security threat to Canada, said the ex-employee Huda Mukbil.
“It’s the reason why individuals in the Muslim community don’t feel they can trust the organization to tackle far-right threats,” said Mukbil in a recent interview with CBC.
She said that during her years of service at the spy agency, she was treated as a potential threat by colleagues.
Mukbil joined the service in 2002. Three years later, she was interrogated by CSIS officials about why she wore hijab, about her frequency of prayer and about her views on the war in Afghanistan and other foreign policy topics, she said.
She complained about the incident to her supervisors but claims she got little response.
Separately, the culture of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is toxic towards women, according to a report released in November 2020.
Also, leadership and the human resources department have created an unhealthy and even racist workplace at the York Region Children’s Aid Society (YRCAS) in Ontario, according to a report released in November 2020.
“Responding to racism in the workplace and developing a strategy to combat it is a complex task that forces employers and HR teams to consider multiple different issues. This includes current workplace culture and organizational policies and practices, and systems that may inadvertently support racial bias,” said Keith Jeffers, president and principal consultant of Employment Matters Consulting.
