Female police officers in B.C. Appeal Court to fight for class-action case against sex abuse
Six female police officers are appealing a court decision to route their sexual abuse lawsuit through union grievances instead of a class-action suit.Summary
Six female police officers are appealing a B.C. Supreme Court decision that denied their class-action lawsuit against 13 municipal forces, arguing that their cases should be heard in court rather than through union grievances. The officers, including Lauren Phillips and Vancouver Const. Anja Bergler, allege systemic bullying, discrimination, and sexual harassment, citing specific incidents such as unwanted touching, misogynistic imagery, and being assigned demeaning tasks. Their lawyer, Kyle Bienvenu, contends that the lower court's ruling was erroneous, while opposing counsel, Jill Yates, argued that similar cases have been successfully resolved through labour arbitrators. Phillips emphasized that filing union complaints exposes women to retaliation and that a class action is necessary to address systemic issues without forcing individual officers to bear the burden of reporting abuse.
(Source：Vancouver Sun)