A recent court decision involving the territorial government's much-lamented computer porn investigation could spring loose substantial new information, says the president of the Yukon Employees Union.

Laurie Butterworth said today if the effect of the recent decision is to open up the ruling by arbitrator Vincent Ready, what would become public in future court proceedings is a lengthy trail of e-mail lists that has been kept under wraps so far.

'It would definitely open up the eyes to the people who were disciplined, and who were not disciplined,' he said in an interrview.

'Because there was a lot of people on those lists that were high government people ....'

Butterworth said the e-mail lists also contain the names of high-profile business people working in the local private sector.

In a Dec. 21 decision by Justice Leigh Gower of the Yukon Supreme Court, Whitehorse resident Dominic Alford won the right to request a judicial review of the arbitrator's ruling that saw Alford lose his job.

The government argued that the applicable legislation gives the union the exclusive right to represent probationary employees grieving a wrongful dismissal.

The union had signed off on the arbitrator's report as part of a negotiated settlement involving employees who were disciplined or fired as a result of the porn investigation conducted earlier in the Yukon Party government's term of office.

Alford argued that he does have the right to represent himself as an employee who was on probation at the time of his dismissal.

The judge found the union has the exclusive right to represent probationary employees who file a grievance under the collective agreement, or whenever the grievance involves an interpretation or application of a provision in the collective agreement.

'On the other hand, the union does not have the exclusive right, or indeed any right in the absence of consent, to represent a probationary employee appealing a dismissal for cause under (section) 136 of the PSA (Public Service Commission Act),' the judge wrote in his nine-page decision.

Gower noted that in Alford's letter to a deputy minister in June 2003, he indicated he wished to appeal his dismissal under the Public Service Act.

'The petitioner (Alford) has standing to apply for judicial review of the arbitrator's decision,' Gower concluded.

The union president said when the employees' union signed off on the arbitrator's ruling, there was a condition to maintain confidentiality of its contents.

Alford's challenge of the arbitrator's decision could mean discussing details of the ruling in open court, Butterworth suggested.

'If this becomes what I think it is, then it is going to be no longer a confidential document, and then there will be a whole bunch of other things we will be able to talk about.'

Butterworth said without yet having received any advice on Gower's decision from the union's legal staff, he's not able to discuss in detail exact implications.

But from what he knows now, the YEU supports Alford and his desire to have a judicial review of the arbitrator's ruling.

He said it's been the union's long-standing position that nobody should have been disciplined, as there was never any policy outlining the use of government computers.

Upon learning of inappropriate material on its system, Butterworth said, the government should have issued a warning stating from that day forward, anyone caught viewing or distributing such material would be disciplined.

If Alford wins his case, said Butterworth, it could set the precedent and open the door for other disciplined employees who would be seeking reimbursement for lost time.

Alford is out of town and unavailable for comment on the implications of the court decision.

Comment from the Yukon's Public Service Commission and the Department of Justice was also unavailable this morning.

Court documents on file maintain that Alford was dismissed for regularly downloading and distributing pornographic material.

But he's also been described in performance reviews as an excellent employee.

Records also show that he was continuously rehired on term positions dating back to 1999 and finally offered a full-time position in 2003.

Opposition members and Butterworth today suggested during recent debate in the legislature that the government has refused to rehire Alford because of the court action he's filed.

It's ridiculous to prejudice an individual in such a way, Butterworth said this morning.

What if, he asked, somebody was challenging a towing charge by the Yukon government?

Would it mean, Butterworth wondered, that that person couldn't work for the Yukon government?