THUNDER BAY — Winnipeg-based Bear Clan Patrol Inc. hopes to reestablish the organization in Thunder Bay next month.
James Favel, the executive-director of the organization, says the group is taking time to find the right individuals to lead a reconstituted Thunder Bay chapter.
Last month, Favel ousted the people involved in the Thunder Bay group, alleging the leadership had failed to meet Bear Clan's objectives and values "by speaking in divisive terms."
A new local Bear Clan Facebook page was set up soon after.
This past weekend, two new recruits from Thunder Bay travelled to Winnipeg to participate in a patrol and familiarize themselves with Bear Clan operations.
"We had them walk with our group so they can understand what we're all about...they walked with us on Saturday night and they got a good experience of what we're about, how we do it, why we do," Favel said Tuesday.
Although a leadership group for Thunder Bay has not been formally established as yet, he said "we have the starts of leadership. It will be their responsibility to put together a volunteer body,"
Favel said it's his understanding that the previous Bear Clan group "wasn't doing the things" that Bear Clan is supposed to do.
"We have to make sure we have adequate leadership there to get this thing going" again, Favel said.
He added, however, that he understands that every community has its own, unique needs, and that he expects the previous group was doing the best that it could.
"We're about poverty alleviation. We're about building community. We're about reconciliation and connecting people. That's what they should be focusing on."
In Winnipeg, the Bear Clan Patrol donated 62 tons of food to needy community members last year.
Favel said he understands the members of the previous Thunder Bay chapter are still operating under a different name after Bear Clan Patrol Inc. ordered the group to stop using its name and logo.
