In March 2026, I had to change department as I received a letter telling me that my position was affected with Shared Services Canada. I had no choice; I had to find a new job. I couldn't wait to see if my position was going to be cut. That's when I returned to the National Defense. I've always had a very good relationship with my directors with Shared Services Canada. I am afflicted with complex PTSD; They were understanding. We had an amazing teamwork, friendship, trust.
Then I moved to the National Defense, and I met Sheila Lacroix. This is when everything changed. On our first meeting, I didn't hide my CPTSD. I am someone who is straightforward, who will not hide anything for awarness and why I can be more anxious. But I was proud I got into the office after so many years of telework. I was ready for a new challenges. Though, the moment she heard that I was afflicted with complex PTSD, her face changed.She started to try to tell me what my triggers were, because we are in labor relations and we can see files that are related to sexual harassment, domestic violence, etc. I informed her that my triggers are very personal to me, and these will not trigger me. She still proceeded to offer me to search for a better position that would fit me, since she has so many contacts. I said I would think about it since the position that she put me in is out of my scope of expertise; I am an executive assistant with HR specialization, not with labor relations. I am not sure why she did hired me. The next meeting, she confirms if I’ll accept her offer. I said, "Well, yes, I will accept your offer." At this very moment, what she said is, " well, I do not have that many contacts, so you will need to find something else within the next 2 months otherwise, it's going to be termination of your job.” I was shocked. She threatened me with termination, which is not something you do when you're an indeterminate employee within the Government of Canada, mostly for such a reason. She proceeded to threaten me with termination another time, later in the week. I pushed to tell her, "No, I'm going to do this job, and I'm not going to accept that kind of threat." That's when the union came in. Because obviously, she was out of line by threatening me with termination simply because I have complex PTSD.
Since then, all the emails have been threatening, I have been isolated, bullied, harassed, followed, under surveillance, threatened even more, micromanagement, unfairness, things that she never asked her former assistant to do, etc. She even refused to follow temporary measure from a doctor following a car accident. She refused and threatened me with consequences such as putting me on sick leave without pay (SLWOP), which she held her promise and went through with it while I was able to work a recuperating at home.
Fast forward, I had to use all my sick leaves, vacations, and all the leaves that the government, the federal government, gives an employee. Those leaves are resetting each April, and by September I had exhausted all of them.
 But now, the new thing that she wanted, that she needed, is a form to be filled, written by herself, to confirm my fitness to work. So I needed to bring it to a doctor for him to fill up and say if I am fit to work. Simple questions. Strangely, I've been working without any problem despite her behavior towards me, without any problem. Not surprising, insults in it such as my ability to communicate when I have worked with prosecutors for a decade and won my cases. Yes, insults and lies on said letter.  
Of course, learning a new job, a new field of expertise, with maybe a month of training, still doing my best, my work might not be perfect. I did find that doctor that ended up filling that form, not only filling the form, but adding notes and recommendations: Yes, I am fit to work. But also recommend immediate actions to be taken so I can be taken away from that department, the stressor, the trigger, the toxic environment that might make my symptoms worsen. Yes, she did accept that I am fit to work and brought me back to work. But sadly, she didn't see the recommendations. Rather, she ignored the recommendations. So at my first day back, I didn't see my director, I saw the DG first, a meeting with the union rep, where the DG actually said that she would help me find something else and that would be more suitable for me, that my wellbeing is their priority, but right now, there's nothing available. I pointed out a position that I saw that is right beside the department where we're at. Why not this one? Obviously, I caught her in a lie, and she didn't know what to say. That would be the only important point I would bring from this meeting.
Next day, the 14th of October 2026, my first meeting with my director in person since everything happened. It's been quite a couple months. She proceeds to threaten me on that first meeting. Why? We have something that is called a PMA, evaluation of an employee, that happens about 4 times a year. Obviously, this one was at end of year, so she couldn't do it because I was with my former director at that moment. But she did added my responsibilities towards her, as she should. I went through it as I should, saw what she put down, had some comments. But the thing is, when you do a PMA, each managers or directors have to meet the employee and discuss the PMA. At the end, we check a box that says that I confirm that I have discussed this PMA, it is as signing electronically. Signing that my manager and I have discussed this PMA. We did not. So the first time she sent it to me, I told her, "I cannot sign this. I would be lying because we did not discuss it." That was the end of it. I never heard of it after that. But on that day of the 14th of October, that's one of the things that she brought up. "You will sign this PMA." I said, "I cannot. We didn't go through it." She said, "Yes, I sent you an email." I said, "This is not discussing a PMA. This is not how PMAs work, and you should know better; I am honest and honorable, I can’t sign a lie."
 I said, "We are in a meeting right now. Why not do it now? It would be done. I will sign it, and it's going to be over with." Instead, she threatened me again with disciplinary measures when it could have been resolved right there on the spot.
The same day, I went to the DG. In good faith, I told her, "I wish to speak to you without the union representative being there.  Something between you and me." She accepted. I told her about the threat that my director, Sheila Lacroix, did as I just came back in the office.   The DG called me a liar. DG's name is Brenda Marcoux; She called me a liar. I said, "Why would I lie? I have more to gain by telling the truth than I have by lying." Again, she called me a liar. And then I had to prove myself again. I proceeded then to tell her what's happening, to tell her what's going on between me and my director. And what she tells me is, after the threats and everything that Sheila did, she said, "Well, this is your perception." I proceeded to tell her, "Brenda, I come from a background of law enforcement. Not only is it in my personality, but I'm also conditioned to work with facts, not perceptions." Her answer, "Well, then this is both your facts.” I couldn't say anything, the only things I could say would have been making my situation worse.
Because right now, both of these women are discriminating me, bullying me, and abusing their power. I left the office on this.
Came Friday, the 16th of October. I was sick, physically sick, but I still showed up at the office. I worked all day. I did mention, because now I have a meeting every day with that director when it's not necessary, but obviously, the recommendation of keeping me away as much as possible from this woman has not gone through deaf ears at all, but not in the right way. So I mentioned to her right on the spot, being honest, "I do not feel good. I'm going to push it as much as I can. If I do need to leave, I will warn you. But I do not have any more sick leave." And they have already given me an advance of about 3 weeks of sick leaves during the moment that I had to find a doctor to fill the letter for fitness to work. So that would be on my time unpaid. Ended up leaving at 10:50 a.m. I have a 1-hour lunch break, and I finish at 3:00 p.m. I tell her, I send her an email with an end-of-day report of what happened, what's going on, what I'm waiting on doing some of  my duties, and telling her that I have done what I could. I need to go back home. I ended up stopping on the highway to vomit. My anxiety was that high. I went to the hospital and met another doctor that already knew about my case. I showed him the letter that his colleague filled up the fitness to work with the note, and he was very appalled. So he wrote me another note, limitations and barriers, where I am very fit to work, but that I need to be taken away from the environment that is causing my CPTSD from getting worse. That means he was asking for telework for 3 months until everything is resolved and such as a department change, taking me away from Sheila so I can finally be well and work without worries and go back to the office. Note that with such strong letters and conditions, they have a duty to accommodate and can’t deny it. The next Monday, I sent her the letter, and I wrote a note that was carefully written to explain to her what it was. On that night, after office, in the evening, I had a course to do, an important course, 3 days, condensed. A lot of stress, a lot of concentration needed. Speaker A (18:00) During that day, I sent her that email with the note from the doctor, I CC my union representative, and I send the email. After that, I leave my workplace to go to that course, and in the middle of it, at 7 o'clock at night, I see the answer from Sheila on my personal email; She declares that both letters contradict themselves. She declares that it says that I'm not fit to work, when it is not what it is saying. Speaker A (18:54) They are both saying that I'm fit, and they both complement each other. The original one they asked me to fill, says that I'm fit and they recommend a lot to prevent to aggravate symptoms. The second one says, again, that I'm fit, but following the situation at work this week, my symptoms have worsened. Therefore, he was demanding that telework for a short period of time or until everything is resolved. What she writes me is that she thinks that it's contradictory. “Therefore, tomorrow, you do not come to the office, you do not use your laptop, and you will be in SLWOP, which is a sick leave without pay.” Sick leave without pay. First of all, she is not allowed to do such a thing. The letter, both letters says that I'm fit to work. She cannot say by herself that I'm not fit to work. She asked for a letter from a doctor to confirm it was provided. Speaker A (20:36) She is not respecting it, and has to accommodate and recognize my fitness to work… And that includes her DG.
So right now, I am stuck without pay, unable to pay my rent for November, having to choose between my rent and my car. My car taking prime position as I will need it to go to work. I will need it to go to my course if I do have the other job that is all the way on the other side of Quebec. And once my training is done, I may be sent anywhere in Canada.  That car is not only a convenience to go to work, It's also my safety, because each time I have a trigger, I know I can go to it and calm myself, or drive away. And now I am on the edge of losing that as well, because some lady decides to abuse her power, interpret something in her own way. Now, I know you're going to be asking, "Where's your union representative in this?" I don't know. Since the president has taken a sick leave herself, the person who's replacing her has not intervened whatsoever like the president did. The president that I had that was on my case, each time Sheila would send something that didn't make sense or was borderline illegal, not in the articles, not in the convention or anything, she would by herself write to my director and tell her how things works. "You cannot do this. - You cannot do that. Per article, this. Per the human rights, this. And per that." Sheila really didn't like that one.  She didn't like the president of the union, of my local. But now she's on medical leave herself. And the one replacing her doesn't speak in a meeting. And when I receive an email from Sheila, like I did this week, he doesn't answer, so she knows she can step all over me without consequences. He steps back and lets me answer and fend for myself. I am not a union representative. I am not labor relation agent. I used to work with bylaws, I used to apply the law. But this is not my field of expertise. And yes, I do not have the support that I had in the beginning. So right now, I'm fending for myself, trying to send the emails to everyone that can be involved to get me back to work in a safe place, and making her realize that there will be no more fitness to work letters as one was just filled 2 weeks ago. Not only this, but 2 doctors in different situations called me fit to work, but with the same recommendations, talking about my health, my complex PTSD, and the last doctor saying that after her not following the recommendations, here are now the consequences for me and where I need to be for a temporary accommodation, in telework until the situation is resolved so I can return to a workplace that is healthy, with a director that is not going to be in conflict with me all the time. Sadly, I cannot provide you with documents and emails because some contain subjects that are sensitive to the national defense. I will try to put as much as I can.
 So right now, as I write this, I am 2 weeks from homelessness, making the choice between my car and my apartment, making the choice of not getting food to try and keep as much money as I can in my pocket to pay for fuel, insurances, license plate, and perhaps my internet and my phone. We have all heard about abuse within the military throughout the years that has been resolved and made public, but no one has talked about the one towards civilians. And I'm not the only one in this situation.
I'm not one to ask for help… But right now, I have no choice. As I am facing immediate homelessness and I'm facing having absolutely no income as I'm on an illegal sick leave without pay, and I cannot do much to get any revenue whatsoever.
So I plead to anyone out there to help me survive this battle, this battle that will continue, that may continue and take years to be finalized, that will take more effort.  Meanwhile, I am searching for another job. I have a few things aligned, but they are not confirmed, and they can maybe only happen next year. I don't know. But meanwhile, I need to pay my car, my rent, hydro, a little bit of food, internet to be able to work from home, to be able to use my computer to search for more jobs. I do not have anything fancy, anything that I don't really need. I have Xbox Live for entertainment, $15 per month. I do have Prime, $5. I don't do much. I don't overspend money on ridiculous things. But sadly, I'm going to be out even with the strict minimum, which is only my car. I beg you, help me. Help me prevent homelessness. Prevent homelessness provoked by a woman that is working on hatred, abuse, harassment, bullying, discrimination, and acting on her threat of termination by putting me on sick leave without pay, wishing that I could disappear as quick as possible.
And that doesn't include the lies that she told and that the DG told, but that would make such a long text for you to read.
I beg you, every dollar can help, and share widely.