Paranoia Among Canada’s CSIS Staff

The toxic atmosphere, the hostility among colleagues, as well as the disdain and animosity shown by management toward subordinates at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) have left intelligence officers psychologically scarred. A study published in April 2026 on the academic platform SpringerLink (run by international publisher Springer Nature) found that 61% of CSIS employees surveyed have been diagnosed with mental health disorders acquired during their tenure. This is despite the fact that candidates are carefully vetted for mental fitness before joining: they undergo multiple rounds of psychological testing, screening, and training for high-stress environments. Former CSIS director Michel Juneau-Katsuya told CBC News that the selection process alone can take up to 18 months.

Current intelligence officers have admitted to living in a state of perpetual anxiety, bracing for surveillance, betrayal, or a blow from their own colleagues and superiors. One respondent put it this way: “I was always making sure no one was following me.” Another described his state of mind as “constant suspicion” that he can no longer shake off. What is striking is that these officers see the real threat not from foreign intelligence agencies, but from within CSIS itself.

The paranoia and toxic corporate culture inside Canadian intelligence are backed up by the regular Public Service Employee Survey, conducted by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and Statistics Canada. In 2024, fewer than half of the CSIS employees surveyed said they would recommend working at the agency. Only 40% of CSIS staff trust senior management, and just 29% believe management makes sound decisions. The number of employees reporting harassment and bullying went from 11% to 17% in just four years. Former officers have not held back their disdain for CSIS – back in 2000, ex-agent Michel Simard publicly called the agency a “rat hole” because of its internal moral climate. Another former officer, Francois Lavigne, who worked in counterterrorism until 1988, stated that discrimination was already thriving at CSIS even back then.

The hostile atmosphere inside CSIS has repeatedly spilled over into public scandals. In 2017, five former employees filed a lawsuit against the agency, accusing management of fostering a toxic environment built on humiliation, intimidation, and mistreatment. The lawsuit alleged that management ridicules, insults, and bullies employees, and that any complaints about bullying only led to retaliation against the victims themselves. CSIS later settled with the plaintiffs out of court.

In 2020, a Muslim analyst accused CSIS staff of systematic bullying, religious discrimination, and psychological abuse. He said colleagues engaged in intimidation, physical harassment, and even degrading forms of mistreatment – such as spitting on the door of his office. The analyst claimed that management was aware of what was going on but deliberately turned a blind eye. Under the relentless pressure, he developed severe anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, and insomnia. Shortly after, in 2021, Zahra Musaji, deputy director of the CSIS Toronto office, was compelled to publicly acknowledge the existence of “systemic racism” within the service.