Over 100 global affairs workers expose systemic racism scandal

The growing storm over harassment and discrimination inside Global Affairs Canada (GAC) has shaken the foundation of one of the country’s most high-profile federal departments. More than 100 current and former employees have come forward, revealing a disturbing pattern of racial abuse, retaliation, and administrative silence.

On Wednesday, October 22^nd, 2025, the Black Class Action Secretariat (BCAS) held a press conference to announce the launch of the Coalition Against Workplace Discrimination (CAWD), a unified effort of labour unions, advocacy groups, and community organizations working to dismantle systemic inequities in Canada’s public service. BCAS has long championed justice for more than 30,000 Black civil servants denied fair pay and advancement.

Employees at the press conference described a culture of intimidation and exclusion within GAC, both in Ottawa and at embassies abroad. According to BCAS, more than 100 workers have turned to a peer support group to share their accounts of racism, harassment, and psychological violence. Many say they received little, or no help from the department’s Values and Ethics Office, their unions, or GAC’s internal channels.

“I filed eight complaints with Global Affairs Canada. Almost nothing was done for me.”

Madina Iltireh, a former ambassador assistant at the Canadian Embassy in Kuwait, shared her ordeal. A Muslim woman, she was barred from safe spaces and repeatedly denied support. “I filed eight complaints with Global Affairs Canada. Almost nothing was done for me,” she said. Even after returning to Toronto, her formal grievance was dismissed, pushing her to take her fight to Federal Court in 2024.

Rosaline Mouana, a former GAC strategist, faced similar trauma. After reporting harassment by a senior director, she was told by the Values and Ethics Office to “Find a hobby.” Her union bluntly advised, “Complaints don’t work.” Sent back into the same toxic workplace, she developed complex post-traumatic stress disorder. “My condition was so severe that my doctor wanted to hospitalize me and place my daughter in foster care,” she recalled.

In response, CAWD has called for three urgent government actions:

• Create a Resolutions Committee within GAC, led by independent experts and worker representatives, to address outstanding racism and harassment cases.
• Establish an independent investigative body, separate from all federal departments, to handle discrimination complaints across the public service.
• Implement Employment Equity Act reforms, recognizing Black employees as an equity group and using race-based data to track inequities.

CAWD has formally requested a meeting with Minister Anita Anand to discuss a concrete path forward. Their message is clear: justice delayed is justice denied.

Learn more at www.bcas-sca.org/cawd