Last October, six female police officers in B.C. filed a proposed class-action lawsuit for discrimination and harassment based on gender.
Their suit names 13 cities with municipal police agencies along with the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner and B.C.’s solicitor general and public safety minister.
Now those defendants have filed statements of defense.
The statements of defense are all very similar. In each one of them, the allegations are denied and there are jurisdictional challenges.
“I mean we’re disappointed, but we’re not surprised,” former Delta police officer Helen Irvine told Global News.
“These are the responses that we were expecting to get. those that have denied the discrimination are relying on technical defenses.”
Nicole Chang, a lawyer who is not involved in the lawsuit but has handled other proposed class actions, told Global News there will be challenges.
The cases can take years to resolve, and collecting evidence can be cumbersome, she said.
“From going to these different entities, gathering up the records, the emails exchanged any sort of communication, to finding the relevant witnesses, people who were there at that time — often people may have left their employment, passed away or just simply cannot find them,” she said.
Lawyers for the female officers must respond to the legal filings by the end of the month.
A decision on certification of the proposed class action lawsuit isn’t expected for several months.