Complaint Review: Justin Ferbey Deputy Minister of Economic Development - Government of Yukon

In an affidavit dated February 21, 2018 which he filed with the Supreme Court of Yukon, Government of Yukon Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Justin Ferbey knowingly committed perjury in an attempt to mislead the court after firing a whistleblower. On November 8, 2017 Deputy Minister Ferbey terminated a Yukon Government whistleblower for recording 6 months of systemic workplace discrimination – stating to the whistleblower: "You need to read the letter. The reason you’re being terminated is because you’re taping people” Click here to listen to Deputy Minister Ferbey’s own words, or cut-and-paste the link below into your browser to play the recording from Google Drive. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gu9u2xMop0roSh10vtdutRR-8TY_YrBW/view In response to a lawsuit filed against him by the whistleblower, Deputy Minister Ferbey filed a February 21, 2018 affidavit with the Supreme Court of Yukon in which he claimed that the whistleblower was 'released on probation’ under S. 104 of the Public Service Act for non-disciplinary reasons.

As a Deputy Minister – the most senior government employee in the Department of Economic Development, Deputy Minister Ferbey knew full well that there is a huge difference between a non-disciplinary 'release’ of a probationary employee and a disciplinary 'termination’ of an employee. "So why would someone lie about it?”, you ask? For the simple reason that by claiming in his February 21, 2018 affidavit that the whistleblower was 'released on probation’, Deputy Minister Ferbey prevented the whistleblower from filing a union grievance and seeking arbitration versus a 'termination’ where the whistleblower would have been entitled to file a union grievance and seek arbitration of Deputy Minister Ferbey’s termination of a whistleblower for doing nothing more than recording systemic workplace discrimination. There's a word for that - the word is 'corruption' and it's systemic at the Government of Yukon. Criminal Code of Canada Perjury 131. (1) Subject to subsection (3), every one commits perjury who, with intent to mislead, makes before a person who is authorized by law to permit it to be made before him a false statement under oath or solemn affirmation, by affidavit, solemn declaration or deposition or orally, knowing that the statement is false. Punishment 132. Every one who commits perjury is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years.

So there you have it – a Government of Yukon Deputy Minister willing to commit perjury in an attempt to pass-off a 'termination’ as a 'release on probation’ in order to deny a whistleblower of systemic workplace discrimination the right to a grievance and arbitration. Sadly, systemic corruption and discrimination are alive and well at the Government of Yukon – thanks to people like Deputy Minister Justin Ferbey.