Ex-Yukon University instructor alleges she was fired after returning from domestic violence leave

A former Yukon University instructor in Dawson City says she was fired shortly after returning from domestic violence leave — a situation that's now before the Yukon Human Rights Commission.

The university, however, says her contract was about to expire and the timing was an unfortunate coincidence.

Melissa Antony had worked for the First Nations initiatives department for nearly two and a half years when she took a five-day domestic violence leave in early 2023. She was on her second day back at work on Feb. 14 when she said she received a call from her manager. 

"He started with the fact that I had a lot of accrued leave," Antony said in an interview. 

"He just told me that somebody else would be taking over [my] projects and I should just take my things and get out of my office and take my two months of vacation leave and then not come back after that."

Antony said she was initially "perplexed" at the request before she realized what was happening. 

"I had experienced a lot with the domestic violence piece, personally, and I was not expecting to lose my job … I had a panic attack," she said. "Like, I couldn't find my breath and I was so shocked, I left and I went home."

While Antony was on a contract set to end on March 31 of that year, she said she'd expected a renewal, something she'd discussed with a previous supervisor. She also said she was the lead on two major projects for which she'd just helped secure five years' worth of funding — the university's Indigenization strategy and a micro-credentialing initiative — and otherwise had "outstanding performance reviews."

Antony confirmed she was never explicitly told she was let go because of her leave, but that considering the timing and circumstances, she could think of "no other reason." 

In her complaint to the human rights commission, which she filed last April and a copy of which she shared with CBC News, Antony alleges she was discriminated against on the grounds of sex, disability and marital or family status.

"I believe I was discriminated against on the basis of my sex and more specifically in relation to my being a survivor of intimate partner violence — the very large majority of whom are women," the complaint reads in part.  

"I believe I experienced discrimination on the basis of a physical/mental disability as well since I was terminated upon returning to work after disclosing domestic violence and taking leave due to the impacts the violence has had on my physical and mental wellness." 

The situation, the complaint says, left Antony struggling "financially, emotionally and physically" and with "extreme PTSD" as she scrambled to find new employment in a small community so she could continue to support herself and her son.  

Yukon University declined an interview request. In an emailed statement, marketing and communications director Misha Warbanski wrote that Antony was "not terminated," but that the "contract came to its previously agreed upon conclusion."