As a pundit once said, "there's justice and then there's the law."
So, it's any legal beagle's guess as to whether the justice system will accept a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of female RCMP officers alleging sexual harassment and sex discrimination in the police force.
But we sure hope the judge who gets to make this decision is one who leans towards justice.
While it can take up to two years for the courts to certify such action, if it is certified, it will be of some relief to the women who say they have experienced disgusting sexual pranks, lewd comments and constant discrimination.
Sandy Merlo, a former Nanaimo RCMP member, is the only named individual on the claim, but lawyers filing the lawsuit say they have up to 150 other women who are ready to join the suit.
Merlo told CBC that she had tried to get her supervisors to take her complaints seriously and had sent a letter to the commissioner. But she waited 25 months for a reply, and no help was offered.
Merlo's long list of alleged grievances reveal a "brotherhood" of male officers who have a fascination with dildos and a critical dislike of pregnant women.
It may not be surprising given what is largely a paramilitary system, but it is astounding that supervisors who covered up the harassment - or, basically ignored it - never thought that what they were doing was not only dishonourable, but also a violation of basic human rights.
The new head of the RCMP, commissioner Bob Paulson, pledged in November 2011 that sexual harassment allegations "do not represent the force that I joined and this condition cannot stand."
We don't know what force he joined, but the one that Sandy Merlo and other female officers joined is one that needs a real shake-up.
If Paulson was sincere, he needs to support the call for a class action lawsuit so that the women can have their day in court - and so can the RCMP.
