The human rights hearing for a female Toronto police officer alleging workplace sexual harassment is likely to resume this summer, after the years-long proceeding was suddenly thrown into limbo due to scheduling complications.

In a letter sent Friday, Const. Heather McWilliam was informed that a former vice-chair of Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) would return to oversee the remainder of the case, sparing the officer from possibly having to restart the hearing — five years after McWilliam filed her compliant, and after 34 days of testimony and evidence had already been heard.

As first reported by the Star, McWilliam was told earlier this month that adjudicator Jo-Anne Pickel, who is no longer working with the HRTO, would not be able to return to complete the hearing. The absence of the lone adjudicator combined with a lack of transcripts meant the hearing would likely have to start over, McWilliam’s lawyer Kate Hughes said.

In an email Monday, Hughes described the attempt to finish the hearing as a “very tiring roller-coaster.”

“It is hard to focus on the case when you have to fight so hard just to get hearing dates,” she said in an email Monday.

Friday’s letter, indicating the adjudicator is available in July, does not acknowledge a March 4 communication to all parties stating Pickel was not available to complete the case, Hughes noted.

“We have no idea why the Tribunal has reversed itself twice on whether this young police officer can finish her sexual harassment hearing against the Toronto police. They have given us no explanation,” Hughes said.

Becky Fong, spokesperson for the HRTO, said the issues have been administrative.

“The adjudicator resides out of province and is appointed to a federal board so it took some time to put these arrangements in place,” she said.

The likely resumption of the hearing — next steps will be confirmed later this week — means the tribunal will soon hear from Toronto police Supt. Ron Taverner, friend of Ontario Premier Doug Ford who has been at the centre of controversy after being appointed as commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police, before bowing out of the running.

Taverner is the superintendent in charge of Toronto’s 23 division, the north Etobicoke detachment where McWilliam, 36, alleges she was subjected to a years-long campaign of sexual harassment, solicitation and gender-based discrimination.

Taverner, among the final witnesses to be called, is not named in McWilliam’s complaint but the tribunal has previously heard allegations he attempted to dissuade McWilliam from officially complaining about a supervisor who made sexually suggestive comments. He did not return an emailed request for comment Monday.

McWilliam’s complaint to the HRTO alleges she was subjected to regular degrading comments and frequent solicitous remarks, including being asked what colour of underwear she was wearing. Her male colleagues would discuss the sex lives of female police officers, and female porn stars were occasionally used as screen savers or desktop wall paper, she alleges.

In one episode, she alleges a male superior showed colleagues within her division a photo of her in her bikini.

“I felt humiliated and did not know what to do,” she writes in her complaint, which she submitted in 2014.

When she did ultimately complain about her treatment, McWilliam alleges that she was ostracized and denied career advancement. She is currently on medical leave.

Since McWilliam filed her claim, two other female Toronto police officers have come forward alleging sexual harassment in the workplace, calling it a “poisonous” place for women. Sgt. Jessica McInnis and Const. Firouzeh (Effy) Zarabi-Majd each allege workplace discrimination in complaints filed to the HRTO in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

Barry Swadron, the Toronto lawyer for McInnis and Zarabi-Majd, said the process of filing a complaint to the HRTO can be stressful, time-consuming and potentially financially ruinous. Unlike other tribunals, the HRTO does not have the power to order legal costs, he said — something that could discourage lawyers from taking on such cases.

“As matters now stand, the sexual harassment and assault victim must foot her own legal bill. The proceedings can last years and take a huge financial and emotional toll on the victim, such that the victim may well wonder if it was worth it,” he said.

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The system, he said, needs to be “totally overhauled.”

Hughes has also raised similar concerns about the impact of the process on the complainant, adding that the current shortage of HRTO adjudicators is only going to make matters worse.

In a notice posted on its website, the tribunal warns of service delays as it “continues to work with the government to improve its services,” and it states that “recruitment is under way to fill adjudicator vacancies.”