Okay. So I don't need to come back to that.
I was told that the only way to proceed was to go through the grievance process. That is what I did. Fortunately, I had Mr. Yazbeck to help me, as the experience was horrible. I went through two years of hearings and so forth. It was very difficult. Hearing horrible things said about me severely affected me on a psychological level. The employer has a lot of resource, doesn't it? It has a lot of our resources. It has many lawyers and a host of people whose goal is to find all sorts of flaws, to destroy us and our reputation. That is what the employer does.
The hearing with the grievance arbitrator was terrible. The process lasted two years. He concluded that, as the issue did not fall under his jurisdiction, he could not render a decision.
I also turned to the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada. In the beginning, I was told that the organization was there to protect whistleblowers. But the process was very complicated. I had to fill out forms, and everything was so complex.
At first, people didn't really know what it was about. I didn't know that there was an integrity commissioner. When I finally filed a complaint, I was told that too many weeks had passed, and the complaint was inadmissible.
Fortunately, Mr. Yazbeck was there. Thanks to his knowledge, he resubmitted my complaint to the integrity commissioner, and it was accepted.
Finally, they decided that the fact that I had lost my job and my security clearance and was suspended without pay did not constitute reprisal. Yet that was the important point I wanted to make—that the government, in reprisal, had fired me to shut me up. It used my example to deter other whistleblowers who may have wanted to talk. I was a good example of what shouldn't be done.
I have said a lot already. I don't know whether I should continue.
I am now in limbo, sitting on the fence. On the one hand, the arbitrator does not want to make a decision because the matter supposedly does not come under his jurisdiction; on the other hand, Mr. Friday is waiting for the arbitrator to render his decision. We almost wonder whether they are talking to each other to make my case slip through the cracks and ensure that it will not be resolved. One is waiting for the other to make a decision, and finally nothing happens.
On the one hand, I am asking this committee to review the act and the policies in order to properly protect whistleblowers. The statutes must focus on the whistleblower. It is very important to protect whistleblowers, and not to protect those who are already in power.
On the other hand, I am wondering whether your committee could, in some way, tell Mr. Friday that he does not have a choice, that he must refer my case to the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Tribunal, since the situation is ridiculous and there is no need to wait anymore. Your action would very clearly indicate that you defend whistleblowers. Your committee would show that it is serious about this issue. It would show that your committee does not just talk, receive briefs and produce reports. It would be a move that would say a lot.
Then the act should be reviewed. It's not just for me. It's true that it would help me, as personal consequences were huge in my case. I am no longer employable, I have no money and I am in debt. It would help me, but it would also be for....
