The B.C. Supreme Court has ordered WestJet to hand over all its files on harassment of flight attendants, in a class-action lawsuit alleging widespread misconduct by pilots.

The ruling by Justice Jacqueline Hughes says WestJet has been slow and B次元官网网址減otentially adversarialB次元官网网址� regarding the documents and itB次元官网网址檚 unclear why complaint files havenB次元官网网址檛 been produced in a timely manner.

The underlying claim in the long-running lawsuit, filed in 2016, alleges WestJet breached flight attendantsB次元官网网址� contracts by breaking a B次元官网网址減romiseB次元官网网址� to provide a harassment-free workplace.

The ruling posted Friday but dated Dec. 11 says the airline tried to limit document production to complaints against male pilots by female flight attendants who havenB次元官网网址檛 opted out of the lawsuit.

But Hughes ordered the airline to produce all harassment complaints by flight attendants during the class period, from April 4, 2014, to Feb. 28, 2021, regardless of whom they were against.

The ruling says WestJet has handed over 24 harassment complaints, but the companyB次元官网网址檚 own B次元官网网址渋nternal statisticsB次元官网网址� indicate there were B次元官网网址渟ignificantly moreB次元官网网址� during that period.

The ruling says some of those complaints involve sexual harassment and sexual assault, and the companyB次元官网网址檚 own documents outline 16 complaints in the last three months of 2018, and 19 in the first quarter of 2022 alone.

Hughes found the airlineB次元官网网址檚 slowness producing documents was a factor in the trial being delayed until October 2025.

Lead plaintiff Mandalena Lewis had applied to the court to have the airline hand over all harassment complaint files for its B次元官网网址渆ntire workforce,B次元官网网址� but Hughes ruled that the case only involves alleged breaches of the flight attendantsB次元官网网址� employment contracts, not those of other staff.

B次元官网网址淚t remains unclear how the plaintiff says WestJetB次元官网网址檚 alleged failure to provide a harassmentB次元官网网址慺ree workplace for e.g. mechanics, is relevant to whether WestJet breached the anti-harassment promise in class membersB次元官网网址� employment contracts,B次元官网网址� the ruling says.

However, Hughes said she was satisfied the scope was not limited to harassment complaints by class members against male pilots, as WestJet wanted.

B次元官网网址淲hile the power imbalance allegedly created by that particular relationship clearly plays a central role in the plaintiffB次元官网网址檚 claim, I find that it is not limited to only those complaints,B次元官网网址� she said.

She gave the company 45 days to turn over the additional files, B次元官网网址済iven the holiday period.B次元官网网址�