Simon Yu faces questions after publicly discussing confidential whistleblower complaint

In a social media post from Thursday morning, Yu argued that employees must be able to report concerns without fear of retaliation, describing whistleblower protection as a fundamental principle of good governance.

“We recently had an employee who found there was something wrong with some of the transactions between the city and the public,” Yu said. “She was afraid that if she reported that she would be retaliated against.”

According to Yu, the employee brought her concerns to him under the city’s former whistleblower policy. He said he disagreed with suggestions that the matter should be handled exclusively by administration and council and instead commissioned his own investigation.

Throughout his remarks in the social media post, Yu framed the issue as one of employee protection and government accountability, arguing that staff members must have confidence they can report concerns without fear of retaliation.

“Transparency is so important internally as well as externally,” Yu said. “When things go wrong, a city employee should be able to report to a superior or to the mayor without having to fear that he or she is going to be retaliated against.”

Yu said the complaint involved an employee who believed there was “something wrong with some of the transactions between the city and the public.” According to the mayor, the employee feared retaliation if those concerns were raised through normal channels.

“So eventually she reported the case to me as mayor under the old whistleblower policy,” Yu said.

Yu alleged he was told the matter should be handled solely by administration and council and that the mayor should not be directly involved. He said he disagreed.

“I took it upon myself to do this investigation, to find out what really happened,” he said. “I spent my own money, almost $26,000 of it, to hire a lawyer to do the investigation to make sure this whistleblower’s case is heard.”

Yu repeatedly defended that decision, describing it as necessary to preserve public trust and employee confidence.

“When we protect one employee, we are really protecting all employees,” he said.

The mayor also argued that whistleblowers should be protected regardless of whether their allegations are ultimately proven correct.

“My view is the employee foremost shouldn’t be retaliated against, even if her finding was not correct,” Yu said. “She should have the right to report and get a fair hearing from our city administration.”

Yu said he believes the city’s current whistleblower policy has weakened those protections by removing the mayor from the reporting process.

“The new whistleblower policy that takes the mayor completely out of the equation, I don’t believe that’s correct,” he said. “I think the policy needs to be worked on.”

He went on to suggest the current policy may be worse than the version it replaced.

“I think we need to go back to the drawing board and take a look with the new council,” Yu said. In the social media post, Yu maintains he acted appropriately and says that these topics should be discussed publicly.

However, concerns were raised after Yu publicly disclosed details about the complaint that had been discussed during a closed council meeting, including information about the complainant’s gender and employment status.

City Councillor Susan Scott said council never authorized the release of that information.

“When we meet in closed, we have an obligation to keep information confidential unless there is a motion passed by that body to release that information,” Scott said. “To my knowledge, that did not happen.”

Scott, who has served on council since 2014, said confidentiality is essential when dealing with whistleblower complaints and workplace investigations.

“I believe it’s because there’s a process that is dictated to us and that while an investigation of any sort is underway, it’s not appropriate to release information or even to comment,” she said.

The issue has also sparked broader discussion about the purpose of the city’s whistleblower policy.

Scott said strengthening protections for employees became a priority following past controversies at City Hall, including issues surrounding the George Street Parkade project.

“I personally went to every senior admin person on the fifth floor and said, either we institute something that protects our employees from stepping forward in the future or frankly, I’m out of here,” she said.

Scott questioned whether the public release of information helps anyone involved in the process.

“I don’t believe that simply putting it out to the public is in the best interest of the public, or the whistleblower, or the individuals against whom charges are now going to come,” she said.

Section 117 of the Community Charter says that a “council member must, unless specifically authorized otherwise by council, (a) keep in confidence any record held in confidence by the municipality, until the record is released to the public as lawfully authorized or required. And City bylaw # 9439 says that “Council Members shall keep information and records prohibited from release under section 117 of the Community Charter in strict confidence.”

In response to the situation, four city councillors have formally requested that Yu call a special closed council meeting to review the matter and determine whether additional information can be legally and appropriately released.

In a joint statement, councillors Cori Ramsay, Susan Scott, Tim Bennett and Ron Polillo, said the current situation creates “an imbalance where one version of events is discussed publicly while others with relevant information remain unable to respond.”

The statement also emphasized the need to protect employee confidence in the whistleblower process.

“Employees must be able to raise legitimate concerns without fear that confidential details will later become part of a public or political dispute,” the statement reads.

Councillors say they remain bound by confidentiality requirements and will not disclose protected information unless council determines additional details can be released through the proper process.

“Transparency and confidentiality are not mutually exclusive,” they wrote. “A credible whistleblower process requires both.”

As of Thursday afternoon, the four councillors said they had not yet received a response from the mayor regarding their request for a special closed meeting. Scott said that they “remain prepared to meet.”

On Thursday before a regional district meeting, CKPG News attempted to ask Simon Yu questions about him revealing the confidential information and the whistleblower policy, but refused to comment.

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Email: Adam.Berls@pattisonmedia.com

by Adam Berls

Simon Yu faces questions after publicly discussing confidential whistleblower complaint

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