THUNDER BAY — The co-founder and executive-director of the Winnipeg-based Bear Clan Patrol Inc. says members of the Thunder Bay chapter have lost the right to use the organization's name and logo.
James Favel alleges that the Thunder Bay group has divided the community with some of its public statements, and his efforts to get it to change its ways have failed.
"We have no alternative but to pull the pin," Favel said Tuesday.
So far, a spokesperson for the local group has not replied to messages from a Dougall Media reporter.
There are close to 50 Bear Clan Patrol chapters across Canada, which Favel described as "independent, more or less," but added that "if they carry our name and logo, then there are certain requirements."
He said things he has seen coming out of the Thunder Bay chapter "sadly" do not meet the organization's mission and values.
According to Favel, for the past six or seven months he's been receiving complaints from members of the Thunder Bay community as well as city councillors and police officers about Facebook posts.
"We cannot have our name associated with a group that is causing divide. That's not what we are about. We are about unifying communities. We are about bringing people together. Reconciliation is a large part of what we do. You don't do that by speaking in divisive terms," he said.
He cited "settler, colonist and allies" as the kinds of words that establish an us-against-them tone.
Favel noted one "inflammatory" post which particularly distressed him, because he looked into it and determined that it was false.
It referenced, he said, police allegedly targeting inebriated Indigenous people for arrest, then dropping them off in a remote part of the city.
"That caused great fear and panic among the people there, and these were baseless allegations. So I had to act."
He also pointed to a post which he said included a photo of a community member along with his child, and which labelled the individual a racist.
"That is not something that we do," Favel said.
He said cutting ties with a Bear Clan Patrol chapter has never happened anywhere until now.
"This is the last thing that we wanted to do. We tried to get them to fall in line."
Favel, who is a member of the Peguis First Nation in Manitoba, said the situation in Thunder Bay could become a legal matter, but his organization is currently looking to start a new chapter in the city.
"We are very upset. It's saddening to have to take this kind of action. In the beginning, I was really impressed. They were doing some really good things."
He pointed to "out-of-the-box" thinking the local group was using such as river patrols using kayaks.
"That's brilliant. I was really happy for them. And then, to see them take this turn, it was very disheartening."
Although the Thunder Bay group could not be reached Tuesday for comment, it posted a message on its Facebook page in response to what it described as "several misleading articles that have falsely accused the group of inciting division and bigotry."
It said the Thunder Bay Bear Clan is a grassroots Indigenous-led community organization dedicated to keeping the streets of the city safe for everyone.
Misrepresentations of the group, it said, need to stop "if we are all going to work together to defend the vulnerable from hate, racism and poverty...We don't have time for the seeds of division to keep us from supporting the people who need it the most."
The statement added, "We do not wish to be drawn into petty fights with journalists who are looking to find scapegoats and straw men ... Bear Clan will continue to find missing persons, help out people on the streets and defend the marginalized regardless of what insults a vocal minority throw at us."
