Former door guard at Trudeau and GG’s residences fighting RCMP security screening allegations

By Stewart Bell

After serving as a language and cultural adviser to the Canadian Forces in Kandahar, Hamid Alakozai went to work as a Commissionaire at the Ottawa residences of the prime minister and governor general.

But the 47-year-old was removed from his post at Rideau Cottage and Rideau Hall last year at the request of the RCMP, according to interviews and documents obtained by Global News.

The concerns stemmed partly from Facebook friends the RCMP alleged were “supportive of or participants in violent extremism,” as well as online posts, some suggesting Alakozai’s involvement in the politics of Afghanistan.

On social media, the former reservist had allegedly identified himself as the leader of the National Uprising Party of Afghanistan and the Next President of Afghanistan, as well as a medical doctor and senior legal adviser.

The case, revealed through internal RCMP security screening documents disclosed in court, highlights the close scrutiny that social media use now faces from governments and employers.

Alakozai declined to comment.

He has applied to have the RCMP decision overturned in the Federal Court of Appeal, arguing he is a “proud Canadian” and the investigator may have developed a “wrong impression.”

“I’m a patriotic Canadian citizen, especially as a former member of the Canadian Armed Forces. Most importantly, my intention remains to serve my country Canada,” he wrote.

A spokesperson for the Commissionaires, a non-profit security company that employs former members of the military and RCMP, confirmed Alakozai was an employee on leave.

Alakozai obtained a Secret-level security clearance and worked as a door guard at the residences of the prime minister and governor general starting in 2015, Mark Blevis said.

But he said the RCMP had contacted the Ottawa Commissionaires office in March 2018, asking that Alakozai be taken off the residences. The Governor General resides at Rideau Hall, while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lives on the same grounds at Rideau Cottage.

“We removed him from that site at that time,” Blevis said. “As soon as the request came in, he was taken off the contract.”

Alakozai subsequently ran for mayor of Ottawa, finishing seventh last October.

“Security clearance is not an eligibility criteria prescribed in the Municipal Elections Act,” a spokesperson for the City of Ottawa said.

full story at https://globalnews.ca/news/5334013/the-commissionaire-former-door-guard-fighting-rcmp-allegations/