A recent job posting from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) explicitly states the agency is hiring summer co-op students based on diversity. CSIS told the Western Standard the DEI policy is in place because the intelligence agency believes it appropriately represents Canada’s population. In the posting, CSIS said the federal agency is “committed” to “cultivating a diverse and inclusive workplace environment” — not just with summer students, but “at all levels within the organization.”“This will be achieved by increasing employment equity group representation (including persons with disabilities, visible minorities, Indigenous peoples and women) at all levels within the organization through hiring and talent management practices,” reads the job posting. .CSIS “strongly encourages” anyone who “self-identifies” with “one or more of the employment equity groups” to say so in the job application process. “In support of achieving a greater, diverse and skilled workforce, we strongly encourage those individuals who belong to one or more of the employment equity groups to self-identify when applying,” states the job posting. .NOTHING TO SEE HERE: Trudeau testifies CSIS ‘Targetting Paper’ on CCP raised no concerns.CSIS is “committed to building a workforce that is truly representative of the Canadians we serve, by cultivating a diverse and inclusive workplace environment,” CSIS media relations spokesperson Lindsay Sloane in an emailed statement to the Western Standard. Sloane reiterated the “employment equity group representation” targets are directed at increasing the quota of “persons with disabilities, visible minorities, indigenous peoples, and women,” and will be implemented “at all levels within the organization — including students.”“CSIS has set ambitious recruitment goals meant to close representation gaps in our DEI Strategy,” wrote Sloane, and pointed to the agency’s DEI “scorecard,” which documents its progress in advancing the agenda. The agency’s 2023 Public Report is also available for Canadians to review, which discusses efforts “around increasing diverse representation at CSIS and our focus on people first, as well as our employee demographics.”.Candidates for the summer opportunity will go through a screening process to obtain Enhanced Top Secret security clearance, which requires them to undergo a “security interview, a polygraph and a background investigation that includes credit and financial verifications.”The posting encourages candidates to “not to use any illegal drugs from the time you submit your application,” as “the use of illegal drugs is a criminal offense.” It concludes with a statement acknowledging it operates on indigenous land. “CSIS Offices in Canada are located on various ancestral and traditional lands,” it states. “In the spirit of reconciliation, we acknowledge all indigenous people across Canada and their connection to these lands.”.CSIS asserts gender-based violence ‘certain to continue’ in report on national, international threats.Interim CSIS Vanessa Lloyd, appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in July after former spy chief David Vigneault stepped down in the wake of the ongoing Commission on Foreign Interference, has a history of supporting DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) policies. .In 2023, when she was deputy director of operations, Lloyd released a CSIS report, Mission Focused: Confronting the Threat Environment, where she alleged naysayers of gender ideology are “extremists” and a threat to national security. “CSIS assesses that exposure to entities espousing anti-gender extremist rhetoric could inspire and encourage serious violence against the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, or against those who are viewed as supporters of pro-gender ideology policies and events,” wrote Lloyd in the report. “CSIS assesses that the violent threat posed by the anti-gender movement is almost certain to continue over the coming year.”.‘EXISTENTIAL THREAT’: Damning top secret CSIS memo prompts committee to reconvene
