Officers with Canada’s spy agency were reprimanded for a whole host of reasons over the last year, including getting into an “altercation” with a security guard and other aggressive conduct, according to documents obtained by VICE News under an access to information request.

A heavily redacted “conduct & discipline log” kept by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) shows it took disciplinary action against officers in dozens of matters in 2016, and at least seven so far this year. CSIS is responsible for investigating and reporting on threats to Canada’s national security.

Many accusations in the 10-page document and their outcomes are redacted by the secretive agency, including an unknown offence that resulted in a 10-day suspension.

This year, an officer allegedly “used CSIS badge to get out of a ticket, made false overtime claims” and “used Service assets without authorization,” while another was written up for taking on “secondary employment while on sick leave.” It’s unclear how either of those cases turned out due to the redactions.

5 CSIS intelligence officers launched a $35M civil lawsuit for incidents they describe as racist, homophobic, sexist, and Islamophobic.

One officer was condemned to a three-day suspension in 2016 for getting into an “altercation with a security officer after a night out with friends.” Another officer was given a verbal warning that same year for “alleged unprofessional comments towards a female employee.”

In another incident, an employee was suspended for one day for signing out a monthly transit pass for her personal use. “These [cards] are meant to be used on duty for registered program activity only,” the agency wrote. Another officer was given a verbal warning for accessing websites “associated with the part-time employment he holds.”

Other officers were disciplined for disrespectful behaviour, insubordination, and altering expense receipts.

This summer, five CSIS intelligence officers launched a $35 million civil lawsuit against the agency for incidents in recent years they describe as racist, homophobic, sexist, and Islamophobic. It’s one of the first times that details of the inner workings of the opaque agency have been made public.

In their 54-page statement of claim, the employees in the lawsuit allege a toxic workplace run by managers who openly discuss racist views, and discriminate against employees who are Muslim, gay, and Black.

No such incidents were listed on the redacted database, and the claims in the lawsuit have not been proven in court.

“No organization can ensure that its employees and managers will never act inappropriately”

The employees in the lawsuit allege that CSIS management routinely targets gay employees with homophobic slurs. “Careful your Muslim in-laws don’t behead you in your sleep for being homo,” one CSIS manager allegedly wrote to one of the employees, according to court documents.

A Muslim female employee also claims she received a wave of backlash from managers in 2004 for wearing a hijab, and by 2016, she was diagnosed with major anxiety and depressive disorder. She hasn’t been able to work since earlier this year, according to her statement of claim.

CSIS filed its statement of defence in the matter last Friday, pushing back against the allegations saying that “no organization can ensure that its employees and managers will never act inappropriately” and that the $35 million in damages being sought by the group is excessive.

Meanwhile, CSIS director David Vigneault released a statement last week admitting that his agency has issues with “retribution, favouritism, bullying and other problems.”