“It’s extremely disheartening,” said Debbie Owusu-Akyeeah in an interview Tuesday. “I think there needs to be a recognition that male dominated workplacesalso have misogyny, homophobia and transphobia issues.”Sign up to receive daily headline news from Ottawa Citizen, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
A published report by CBC News suggests the incident involved a rookie firefighter who identifies as non-binary. In a complaint made to police on Sept. 20, the individual alleged they were choked from behind by a colleague during an incident in which they also faced a series of gender-based slurs.Ottawa Fire Services Chief Paul Hutt was not made available for comment.
Ottawa’s fire service remains a male-dominated institution. In its most recent annual report, the service said it recognizes “sustained outreach efforts” are required to attract a workforce that better represents the community., women recruits made up eight per cent of its incoming class of full-time firefighters in 2020, and 23 per cent of rural firefighters, most of whom work on a part-time basis.about six per cent of the city’s firefighters were women.
Owusu-Akyeeah said she wants to see the fire service do everything possible to hold the two individuals accountable for their actionswhile supporting the victim. “The department’s leadership needs to ensure that its most vulnerable people are protected,” she said.