Iltireh, who worked for more than two decades in the administration of Canada’s foreign aid programs, says her three-year posting in Kuwait between 2018 and 2021 left her traumatized and isolated.

“I was representing Canada, but Canada did not represent me,” she said in an interview, describing how repeated pleas for help went unanswered. “I went through hell.”

In 2024, the Federal Court ordered Global Affairs Canada (GAC) to reopen the investigation.

The subsequent report obtained by Radio-Canada found four of the eight allegations to be founded, concluding that the ambassador “failed to ensure that Madina Iltireh worked in a healthy work environment” and had “encouraged and tolerated” bullying in the workplace.

Despite the findings, Iltireh says she received neither an apology nor compensation. “I need the department to show me change and to prove that what I went through will never happen again,” she said.

The report cited testimony suggesting that Iltireh faced sustained hostility from embassy staff, who criticized her tone, questioned her competence, and excluded her from meetings. It also found that her living conditions in Kuwait were substandard: a failing air conditioner, power outages, and delayed maintenance requests that went unaddressed for years.

“The place I was for three years was toxic, and it was suffocating,” she said. “I developed anxiety, I lost memory, and I’m still trying to rebuild what I lost.”

After years of procedural hurdles, Iltireh’s case illustrates what advocates call a “broken” system for addressing discrimination inside Global Affairs Canada. Nicholas Marcus Thompson, executive director of the Black Class Action Secretariat, said Iltireh’s experience mirrors dozens of cases from Black and racialized public servants across federal departments.

“The system is dysfunctional,” Thompson said. “Workers are silenced, complaints are blocked, and while those who speak up suffer, the leadership advances.”

His organization, which represents over 45,000 current and former federal employees, is pressing Ottawa to create an independent investigative body to handle discrimination claims and implement overdue reforms to the Employment Equity Act.

Career diplomat Tariq Gordon, who co-founded a peer support group within Global Affairs Canada, said Iltireh’s ordeal spotlights deep-rooted cultural problems within the foreign service. “She’s not an isolated case,” he said. “There are so many stories of people suffering quietly, afraid to jeopardize their careers by speaking up.”

GAC, in a written statement, said it enforces a “zero-tolerance policy toward misconduct or wrongdoing” and that its internal investigators are trained to act “professionally and impartially.”

It added that the department is studying the creation of a standardized complaint intake model to improve transparency and recourse for staff.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand acknowledged the seriousness of the allegations, saying discrimination in any form is “unacceptable.”

“We need a public service where inclusivity and diversity are stronger because that makes our organizations and our country stronger,” she said. “It’s a priority for me as a minister and as a racialized woman.”

For Iltireh, the case is about personal vindication and ensuring others don’t endure the same ordeal. “Hopefully, the ministry will change so the people coming after me don’t have to go through what I did,” she said.

‘MOMENTOUS OCCASION’