Open Letter to the President and Board of Directors of PIPSC

PIPSC President & Board of Directors
Via email: president@pipsc.ca. Published at: en.gorodnichy.ca. Version française: fr.gorodnichy.ca.

Date: 28 February 2025

Subject: Urgent Concerns Over Undemocratic Interference in Electoral Reform & Transparency Efforts

Dear Sean O'Reilly and Members of the Board of Directors,

As you know, unlike national PIPSC elections and elections for many PIPSC groups, which are conducted electronically to allow all members to vote, NCR Executive elections still follow an in-person process. Under this system, only 200–300 delegates—mostly from the existing executive network (less than 1% of NCR membership)—who attend the NCR Council can vote. This is unacceptable, considering that NCR represents over 40,000 members (more than half of the national PIPSC membership), most of whom will never be able to participate in the election of their NCR Executives and whose voices will never be heard by those making decisions on their behalf.

This and many other concerns related to the lack of transparency, member representation, and political influences were my key messages during both the regional election campaign in April, which I won, and the national election campaign, where half a thousand of members ranked me as their first choice for the Union's Vice-President (part-time) position.

Obstruction of Electoral Reform Discussion

It has come to my knowledge that my name and the NCR By-Laws and Policies Committee (BLPC), which I chaired and which prepared recommendations for the NCR Electoral Reform, have been removed from the PIPSC NCR page. Furthermore, no effort has been made by the NCR Chair and other NCR executives to address the concerns outlined in these recommendations.

This indicates a deliberate effort on their part—particularly by those who have consistently opposed the reform since I first proposed it on behalf of the NCR By-Laws and Policies Committee in September 2024—to obstruct my efforts and those of this committee in advancing Electoral Reform. (See Annex A for more details on the proposed NCR Electoral Reform and the documented instances of obstruction, delays, and objections, none of which withstand scrutiny as legitimate grounds to block these much-needed improvements.)

I have strong grounds to believe that these individuals will take further actions to obstruct the development and discussion of Electoral Reform. This includes the potential misuse of their authoritative roles in delegate selection to prevent me and other members supporting Electoral Reform from attending the NCR Council in April 2024. At this Council, a resolution aimed at transitioning the election of NCR executives from the current delegate-only voting system to an all-member electronic voting system is set to be prepared for voting by the concerned members.

Violation of Democratic Principles

Any attempts to silence me, obstruct meaningful discussions, or manipulate the delegate selection process cannot be seen as anything other than a direct violation of PIPSC’s core democratic principles. These actions will be documented and used as evidence of misconduct by those involved.

I specifically draw your attention to the clear conflict of interest exhibited by the NCR Chair and other NCR executives who actively oppose the reform while personally benefiting from the current electoral process. Under this system, only NCR-executive-approved delegates may attend the Council and vote for new executives—disenfranchising thousands of other members who are unable to participate.

Additionally, I need to stress that anyone within the Board of Directors or Legal Department who approved the removal of my name and the NCR BLPC from the PIPSC NCR page will be held personally liable for enabling undemocratic interference in efforts to bring greater transparency, accountability, and member representation to the NCR, as well as for obstructing the advancement of the NCR Electoral Reform.

Lack of Response to Key Inquiries

I must highlight that I contacted you and other members of the Board of Directors on 10 December 2024 (See Annex B) seeking clarification on why, in December 2021, you chose not to file a grievance challenging vaccination mandates for remote workers, as other unions (PSAC) did. By now, it should be evident to everyone on the Board that the Union’s failure to challenge this mandate from the outset has caused severe suffering among many members, leading to extreme distress and even suicidal thoughts in some cases. However, the Board has yet to respond to my concerns, nor has it acknowledged anywhere on its website the trauma caused by vaccination mandates or outlined any steps taken by the Union to address these harms. This further suggests vested interests within the Board itself in suppressing my voice and my efforts to bring more transparency, accountability, and member representation to the Union.

Similarly, my requests to the Legal Department (5 July 2024, 6 January 2025—See Annex C) to expand the Union’s Equity Statement to include additional grounds of harassment and discrimination, such as differences in health choices and spiritual practices, have also been left unanswered. This further suggests that this department has also vested interests in silencing my voice and those of other members who have shared their concerns with me, urging me to act in my elected position to address these issues.

Call to Action and Consequences of Further Obstruction

Therefore, I am writing this Open Letter to formally put you, the Board, and the Legal Department on notice that any further obstruction of the matters discussed herein—from any party within the Union, whether elected or employed—will result in broader public exposure of the Union’s corrupt and undemocratic practices. This will include disseminating all gathered evidence among other PIPSC members and public servants, as well as sharing this evidence with national media outlets through my newsletters and professional networks.

I expect a written acknowledgment of this Notice of Liability within seven (7) days, along with confirmation that my participation at the NCR Council and my ability to present the NCR Electoral Reform proposal will not be obstructed.

I also invite you to discuss these matters at your next Board meeting and develop a plan to address them. This is a golden opportunity for the Union to move toward a more accountable, transparent, and inclusive organization that represents all members fairly. Personal political and medical views have no place in the Union’s mission to defend our members and improve their working conditions.

A strong, democratic union is built on fairness, accountability, and open dialogue. I remain committed to working collaboratively toward these shared goals and trust that PIPSC leadership will take immediate corrective action to uphold these principles.

In Solidarity,

Dmitry O. Gorodnichy, Ph.D.
Regular PIPSC Member since 2000
2024 Elected NCR Executive Member
2024 PIPSC National Election Vice-President (part-time) Candidate

Email: dmitry.gorodnichy@gmail.com (pipsc@gorodnichy.ca)
URL: www.gorodnichy.ca/dmitry
Tel: 613-355-9975

Annexes:

• Annex A: NCR Electoral Reform and Evidence of Obstruction. Included below. Also with PII removed at https://en.gorodnichy.ca/action-tracker/ncr-electoral-reform

• Annex B: Letter to the Board (10 DEC 2024). Subject: “Request for information - Related to December 10, 2021 BoD meeting & grievances (not) filed for remotely working members”. Attached. Also with PII removed at https://en.gorodnichy.ca/action-tracker/letter-to-the-board-10-dec-2024

• Annex C: Communications with the Legal Department. Subject: Request to update PIPSC Equity Statement to include additional grounds of discrimination. Attached. Also with PII removed at https://en.gorodnichy.ca/action-tracker/equity-statement

• Annex D: Motions and Action Items for NCR Executive Board authored by Dmitry. https://en.gorodnichy.ca/action-tracker/motions-for-ncr-board

• Annex E: Communications with BLPC (Dec 2024 - Jan 2025). Subject: “Follow-up: Feedback requested on NCR by-law changes related to NCR Electoral Reform”. Attached.

• Annex F: Communications with PIPSC Elections (Nov 2024). Subject: “Re: Question on digital elections platform”, Communication with NCR Chair requesting discussion (Nov 2024). Subject: “Re: Executive meeting for Nov 19”. Attached.

Annex A: NCR Electoral Reform and Evidence of Obstruction

On January 13, 2025 during its first NCR Executive Board meeting with newly elected NCR directors, Dmitry moved the motion prepared by the NCR By-Laws and Policies Committee (BLPC), of which he was Chair, to discuss the NCR Electoral Reform at the upcoming in April NCR Council. (See Annex D for the exact wording of this and other motions that were moved by Dmitry at this meeting aimed at bringing more transparency and accountability into the NCR operation and none of which were supported by the NCR executives)

Of 8 executives who attended the meeting, only two others, beside Dmitry, supported the motion: the newly elected director, and the Chief Steward. The remaining five board members voted against the motion. By doing so, they effectively reinforced the apparent or perceived conflict of interest highlighted in the rationale for why NCR electoral reform is urgently needed, as they personally have benefited from the current electoral process.

None of the objections stated against the Electoral Reform—such as that "it is against the NCR by-laws" and "this will disenfranchise some members" (without specifying which members) offered by the NCR Chair, or "prohibitive cost" and that "only groups are allowed to vote electronically due to their geographical spread" offered by other long-term executives —hold up to scrutiny as compelling grounds to block this much-needed improvement for transparency and governance in the National Capital Region.

No interest was shown by any NCR executives in further discussing the issues raised by the BLPC-developed Electoral Reform proposal—neither when these issues were first presented to the executives in September 2024, nor before or after the motion was brought forward in January 2025. There was not a single email or off-the-record conversation initiated to discuss the motion, despite multiple attempts to engage. This stands in stark contrast to many other topics (such as social activities or NCR-branded jackets) that have prompted lengthy online and offline discussions.

On top of that, my multiple requests to have this proposal discussed during the NCR Executive meetings were delayed multiple times—from September, when I originally offered to discuss it, until January 2025, when we were finally able to address it. However, this discussion took place with a very limited team (only eight people attended the meeting) and within a highly restricted timeframe (less than 10 minutes as part of a motion discussion). These delays were justified on the grounds of a lack of time and the need for me to consult the Elections Committee Chair—which I did, and I appreciate his comments, which further encouraged me in my efforts (see Annex E), and also the national BLPC – which I attempted to reach for several weeks until they eventually replied that they had no involvement in this matter (see Annex F).

For additional details related to the proposed By-Law changes, Timeline and Log of Actions see: https://en.gorodnichy.ca/action-tracker/ncr-electoral-reform.