WestJet asks court to toss proposed class action

VANCOUVER WestJet says a proposed class-action lawsuit that accuses the company of failing to provide a harassment-free workplace for female employees is an abuse of process that should be thrown out of court.

The Calgary-based airline argued in a British Columbia Supreme Court on Thursday that the legal claim would be better dealt with through a human rights tribunal or workers’ compensation board.

The company’s lawyer, Don Dear, said WestJet is not disputing the substance of the allegations but believes the arguments are being heard in an improper venue.

“This is not a defence of poor behaviour or an argument that sexual harassment is anything other than completely inappropriate and completely wrong,” Dear told the court.

“Any misbehaviour, any wrongful behaviour any unlawful behaviour is in no way being condoned by WestJet.”

Former flight attendant Mandalena Lewis sued WestJet over allegations of genderbased discrimination, accusing her former employer of fostering a corporate culture that tolerates harassment against its female employees.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

The class-action lawsuit first has to be certified by a B.C. Supreme Court judge before it’s allowed to represent the group as it continues through the courts.

The lawsuit is framed as a breach of contract, alleging the airline broke a contractual “promise” to prevent its employees from experiencing harassment in the workplace.

It would be a waste of the court’s resources to deal with the claim, Dear argued, accusing the plaintiff of bypassing the proper route for addressing a human rights complaint or worker’s grievance.

“If this action is permitted to proceed on the basis of a contract, that in effect eviscerates these administrative boards that have been charged by the legislature to deal with these issues,” he said.

The plaintiff wants to punish WestJet and change its behaviour, which is more appropriately dealt with through a human rights tribunal, Dear said.

He also took issue with the plaintiff’s argument that the airline benefited financially from its failure to protect its employees so should have to relinquish some of its profits, calling it a “fanciful submission.”

Tim Dickson, one of Lewis’s lawyers, said WestJet should be required to forfeit any profits it made by not making good on what he called the company’s anti-harassment promise.