Former WestJet flight attendant’s lawsuit certified by B.C. Court of Appeal

The B.C. Court of Appeal has overturned a decision by a lower court, giving new life to the legal fight of a former WestJet flight attendant.

Mandalena Lewis has been fighting for years to have a class action lawsuit go ahead against her former employer over claims WestJet breached its contract.

Lewis reported she was sexually assaulted by a pilot during a layover in 2010 and she claims the company failed to protect her and other employees from harassment.

Her earlier efforts to take the company to court failed when a B.C. Supreme Court judge dismissed her application due to several conclusions, primarily that there are other means for class members to achieve justice that are more efficient than a class proceeding.

Justice Karen Horsman wrote in her 2021 judgement other options, such as collective bargaining for those still employed by WestJet, a human rights complaint, or an individual lawsuit, could be used instead of launching a class action lawsuit over workplace harassment claims.

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However, Court of Appeal Justice Peter Voith disagreed, and overturned the decision on Tuesday, certifying the class action. 

“Respectfully, this conclusion again impermissibly recasts the appellant’s claim, and it did not properly address the question before the judge. The question was whether some alternate procedure, here a human rights complaint, would effectively resolve the substance of the claims of class members. The Amended Claim and proposed common issues do not seek ‘systemic relief,'” Voith said in his decision.

Voith adds, “In a human rights complaint only those class members who had actually suffered discrimination, in the form of harassment or otherwise, could potentially seek monetary compensation.”

Lewis told CityNews she was ecstatic her fight turned out to be victorious and said the ruling proves women who’ve faced similar circumstances now have a tool at their disposal.

“This ruling really clarifies that the certification judge erred by failing to address this system failure by WestJet. The contractually broken promises to keep female flight attendants safe from sexual harassment. This is not about individual claims of harassment,” she said. “Therefore, it’s really important that women know and especially women at WestJet, who are flight attendants, you no longer have to wait to get sexually harassed, to then go to somewhere like the Human Rights Tribunal to go and prove yourself and take on that burden. You can now lean on your contract, which states that your employer is contractually promised you a safe work environment. Now it’s on your employer.”

Karey Brooks the lead attorney in the case added in a statement “Many women with credible harassment claims are deterred from such a process as they cannot remain anonymous, they have to bring claims against employers when they may still wish to remain employed, and the proceeding focuses heavily on their credibility. As a result, many meritorious claims are not pursued. Ms. Lewis’ claim is important because it focuses on whether preventative systems and programs are in place, rather than individual instances of harassment.”

Lewis adds, the ruling proves, “The corporate boys club of Canada who have this type of power are now on notice.”

In a response to CityNews, WestJet says it “is committed to maintaining a safe and harassment free environment for WestJetters and our guests,” adding, “We do not comment on matters before the courts.”

– With files from Angela Bower