Hearing on police class-action suit in September

Lawsuit alleges widespread gender-based discrimination, harassment

KITCHENER — A judge named as case manager of a proposed class-action lawsuit against Waterloo Regional Police will meet with lawyers for both sides next month.

The meeting with Superior Court Justice Deena Baltman is set for Sept. 25.

The lawsuit, announced in June, alleges widespread gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment by regional police against female officers. The allegations have not been proven.

Lawyers representing the plaintiffs and the police service will be at the meeting at the courthouse in Brampton, said Doug Elliott, the lead lawyer for the plaintiffs. The lawsuit was filed in Brampton.

“The Waterloo Regional Police Service has said that the courts have no jurisdiction to deal with the case,” Elliott said. “We say that they do and I expect that Justice Baltman will be asked to decide whether she should deal with the question of jurisdiction first or whether she should deal with the jurisdiction issue at the same time as certification.”

To proceed, the class action must be certified by a judge.

“I expect that will be heard within a year,” Elliott said. Baltman is the case management judge. “She will not be the trial judge but she’ll be dealing with certification and everything else up until the trial,” Elliott said.

Const. Angelina Rivers and former constable Sharon Zehr say they were subjected to routine harassment and abuse by their male counterparts and their bosses.

Joining the claim is retired regional police superintendent Barry Zehr, who said he repeatedly spoke to police management about systemic discrimination, but nothing was done. Zehr is married to Sharon Zehr. He retired from the service in April.

The three plaintiffs are leading the class action on behalf of female members of regional police. The suit is against the police service as well as the police services board. The total amount sought is $167 million.

In a statement, the police service said it does not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment in the workplace.

“Some of the allegations attributed by the plaintiffs date back to 1988 and those have only just come to the attention of our service,” Chief Bryan Larkin said in the statement. “Some were already the subject of an investigation by an independent law firm and dealt with appropriately.”

The statement said the chief and police services board take the allegations seriously, but added that it is important to note they remain allegations and have not been proven in court.

The service said the allegations should have been dealt with by the grievance and arbitration system that is provided by the Police Service Act and is governed by the officers’ collective agreement.