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VANCOUVER — At age 22, Quebec native Joanne Mayer was greeted at her first RCMP posting in Gibsons, B.C., with a handshake and a blunt statement from the sergeant: “We don’t think women should be in the force, and especially not French-speaking ones.”

Mayer said that along with her regular duties, she spent over two years doing “sexist” chores including making coffee, ensuring there was an ample supply of cream and sugar, and cleaning police cruisers.

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A quarter-century later, Mayer has joined hundreds of other former and current RCMP members hoping for justice over alleged gender discrimination, bullying and harassment with a potential class-action lawsuit.

A five-day hearing to determine certification of a class-action proceeding involving 362 women is set to begin Monday in B.C. Supreme Court.

“I didn’t tell my parents or anybody what had happened to me. I went through this all on my own,” said Mayer, who plans to fly to Vancouver from Ottawa along with several other women expected to attend from across Canada.