A former Mountie who was part of a class action against her former employer, says needed changes to address toxic, hateful, and homophobic attitudes in the RCMP may have to come from a union level.

A report released last week by Supreme Court Justice Michel Bastarache concluded that radical action must be taken to address a negative workforce culture within the RCMP.

He made 52 recommendations to address aspects of systemic sexism and homophobia embedded in RCMP culture.

Harbour Grace native Janet Merlo was among the first to blow the whistle on sexual harassment and abuse within the organization.

She says taxpayers should be outraged, saying the lawsuit she was part of was just one of many, including a looming $1.2-billion lawsuit on behalf of men, who represent a much bigger portion of the force, who have been bullied, harassed, and mistreated.

Merlo wonders how much taxpayer money will be paid out “for lives that are broken, and careers that are lost” instead of being funneled into running a “good, healthy, productive organization.”

She believes the changes needed may never come from within the ranks of the RCMP, but with the creation of a union.

They’ll have the ability to fight internally for changes says Merlo and maybe it’ll come through the union rather than an outside entity or the RCMP itself.