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A veteran Canadian government data scientist is challenging disciplinary action taken against him, not for flawed analysis but for how he used publicly available COVID-19 data after internal concerns went unanswered.

Dr. Dmitry O. Gorodnichy, a Ukrainian-born mathematician and computer scientist with more than 25 years of federal service, has filed a grievance against his employer following a five-day unpaid suspension in 2022. His case was heard February 18–20 before the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board and is expected to resume in the coming weeks.

Gorodnichy previously served as a senior data scientist at the National Research Council of Canada before moving to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), where he evaluated biometrics and artificial intelligence systems for border control applications.

He was so passionate about his work and teaching others his skill that he hosted informal “lunch and learn” sessions for colleagues dating back to 2019, sharing how to interpret government data independently.

In early 2022, after reviewing federal COVID-19 datasets – including mortality trends and vaccine reporting – Gorodnichy declined a second COVID-19 vaccination. He was subsequently placed on leave without pay.

Internal emails presented during the hearing show he raised questions with management about post-October 2021 data trends. According to testimony, those concerns were largely unaddressed.

While on leave, Gorodnichy continued refining his IVIM (Independently Verified Information Machines) platform that he developed to analyze publicly available datasets through interactive visualization tools.

By fall 2022, after federal mandates were rescinded and he had briefly returned to work, Gorodnichy was suspended for five days without pay.

The employer cited social media activity throughout his previous leave that allegedly contradicted the government’s position that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective.

During the February hearing, testimony from CBSA officials, including former director Kaveh Afshar and then-Acting Director of Data Science Nicholas Vincent, focused on whether Gorodnichy’s public commentary undermined employer messaging. While there was no specific written order instructing him to remove vaccine-related posts, there is general guidance to avoid reputational harm.

Notably, witnesses did not dispute the underlying datasets or the technical quality of Gorodnichy’s visualizations. The employer also did not challenge the accuracy of data interpretation from the Public Health Agency of Canada or Statistics Canada. Instead, the case centers on whether his public dissemination and commentary constituted a breach of loyalty.

It’s not about the data, but rather how it was used, and if the disciplinary suspension was proportionate.

Gorodnichy argues the suspension was excessive and punitive, particularly as much of the cited social media activity occurred after he was already on leave without pay and without access to government systems. He maintains that he relied solely on publicly available data and exercised his rights as a citizen to analyze and discuss it.

This ongoing tension within Canada’s public institutions shows the (im)balance between institutional loyalty and scientific scrutiny. Can an otherwise ignored federal scientist publicly question interpretations of government datasets without facing professional consequences?

It would seem no dissident in the ‘free and democratic’ Canada is left unscathed.