Bear Clan says James Favel dismissed for serious human resource issues

The Bear Clan says that while they cannot go into detail, they wish to clarify rumours circulating around the dismissal of their former Executive Director.

In March of 2020, the Bear Clan Patrol conducted an independent human resources workplace evaluation. They say that what they found was harmful to the organization.

“…there were significant, ongoing concerns from a number of participants relating to staffing and accountability, primarily revolving around James. In the assessor’s opinion, the potential impact could be a total breakdown of the organization as a whole,” the independent human resources evaluation says.

Furthermore, last month, a Manitoba Workplace and Safety report was done following a complaint against Favel.

“Mr. Favel does not believe that he has done anything wrong, however, his treatment of _(name redacted)_ has been unprofessional and intimidating. Although he has been asked to apologize to _(name redacted)_ for his mistreatment, he has not done so to date,” the Bear Clan shares from the July report.

Bear Clan says that in response, Favel hired a lawyer. The organization says that two times previously, he had hired a lawyer after a falling out, and both times resulted in the desolvation of two previous boards.

"He has consistently demonstrated an inability to work with any Bear Clan Board, or any Bear Clan Board member, no matter who they are," they said in a statement.

The patrol says Favel has not walked with the clan for over a year.

Bear Clan says that there is also a false statement regarding their board's involvement with the responsibilities of the Executive Director. 

"The Board’s goal, and responsibility, is to at all times ensure compliance with important human resource laws, policies and procedures, as well as financial accountability. It properly held the Executive Director accountable for meeting these requirements."

They say the board acted appropriately and in compliance with bylaws.

The organization also used the opportunity to say that there are additional false statements circulating. They say that the board is not "dominated" by the Winnipeg Police Service, but have a WPS liaison, Brian Chrupalo, and Devon Clunis, an authority on police reform, on the board. They say that both members were recruited by Favel.

Bear Clan says that Favel was salaried by the patrol for the past three years. All other members are volunteers, noting that the organization made just over $600,000 in 2019.

CHVN has reached out to Favel for his response.