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 鈥減otentially adversarial鈥� regarding the documents and it鈥檚 unclear why complaint files haven鈥檛 been produced in a timely manner.

The underlying claim in the long-running lawsuit, filed in 2016, alleges WestJet breached flight attendants鈥� contracts by breaking a 鈥減romise鈥� 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 haven鈥檛 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 company鈥檚 own 鈥渋nternal statistics鈥� indicate there were 鈥渟ignificantly more鈥� during that period.

The ruling says some of those complaints involve sexual harassment and sexual assault, and the company鈥檚 own documents outline 16 complaints in the last three months of 2018, and 19 in the first quarter of 2022 alone.

Hughes found the airline鈥檚 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 鈥渆ntire workforce,鈥� but Hughes ruled that the case only involves alleged breaches of the flight attendants鈥� employment contracts, not those of other staff.

鈥淚t remains unclear how the plaintiff says WestJet鈥檚 alleged failure to provide a harassment鈥慺ree workplace for e.g. mechanics, is relevant to whether WestJet breached the anti-harassment promise in class members鈥� employment contracts,鈥� 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.

鈥淲hile the power imbalance allegedly created by that particular relationship clearly plays a central role in the plaintiff鈥檚 claim, I find that it is not limited to only those complaints,鈥� she said.

She gave the company 45 days to turn over the additional files, 鈥済iven the holiday period.鈥�