A ritualistic dishwashing competition at an Ottawa fire station last year escalated to unusual violence in the form of choking, and later that day the victim — an openly non-binary rookie firefighter — was ushered into a supply closet by their supervisor and discouraged from reporting the incident, two internal fire department investigations obtained by CBC have found.
While the final reports focus only on the events immediately leading up to, during and shortly after the violent incident, they include some accounts of a culture of fear and silence at Ottawa Fire Services.
The rookie complainant was so afraid of reprisal for speaking
