Air Canada Accused of Toxic Work Environment

According to several former employees, Air Canada has a longstanding history of harassment and intimidation at work, leading to a number of former workers being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after their dismissal from the airline.

Four women and one man, all former employees of Air Canada, ended up being diagnosed with PTSD after they worked with the airline. They told HuffPost Quebec that while working for the company, they faced harassment and unfair dismissals. Since 1996, 462 complaints have been made about Air Canada’s treatment of its employees to the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

One former employee said when she started, she instantly felt unwelcome.

“There was just this ‘women don’t belong here kind of attitude’,” she told the Huffington Post. “It’s a typical situation when you work in a male-dominated field. But it wasn’t too bad, at first. The main thing was sexist comments and being treated differently because you were a woman.”

But then she hurt her back and was forced to work in a group of employees that people considered disabled – and was referred to as a “second-class employee.” She eventually applied for and got a supervisor position, but then faced more harassment from a coworker who wanted the job for himself.

“The guy had me pinned against the wall and started using very abrasive and crude language and sexually explicit language. And I was scared,” she told HuffPost. “He had his forearm across my throat area and basically saying I didn’t deserve the position even though … I had passed the test.”

When she reported the incident, she was told, “women don’t belong here.” Later, she received death threats, went on sick leave, and was fired while she was away.

A number of cases brought against the airline by former employees are still in court.

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