A CSIS Story: How the Service Treated One Intelligence Officer Candidate Application

In 1984 the RCMP Security Service underwent a transition and became the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).The new organization launched a series of campaigns to recruit new Intelligence Officers. Krzysztof Piotrowski decided to apply. At his first interview he spent over three hours with a Recruiting Officer. At the end of the interview the Recruiting Officer told him “You’re head and shoulders above the other candidates”.The candidate went through all the required interviews and tests. The last interview at the end of the process was a panel interview with three senior officials. The panel concluded that he was “the best” candidate and had the highest score.He was told that the only thing left was to wait for the “Top Secret” security clearance.He got the security clearance. Then he got a rejection letter.He made a Privacy Act request for his application file.When he found out how CSIS “investigators” and “analysts” assessed his candidacy he regretted that he ever considered applying to CSIS. This is the story of one candidate applicant and how CSIS treated him and his application. Paul DesLauriers and Krzystof Piotrowski are retired federal civil servants.Read more