Conservation officer who refused to euthanize bear cubs goes to B.C. Supreme Court
A former conservation officer in B.C. who lost his job after refusing to euthanize two bear cubs went to the BC Supreme Court recently as part of an effort to be reinstated.
It all began in 2015 when Bryce Casavant was directed to euthanize two bear cubs. He didn’t, which kicked off a series of disciplinary and grievance actions between his employer and the BC General Employees Union (BCGEU). The matter was settled in 2016.
He was transferred to a different role with the Ministry of Forests and received funding to upgrade his training for the new position through the settlement.
But Casavant went to the Supreme Court to try and have the old settlement set aside to get his conservation officer job back.Ā He’s been trying to be reinstated for several years, and the latest petition to the court was his most recent effort.
He asked the Supreme Court to force one of the union’s lawyers who worked on his case to release documents he believed would help his effort.
But the court determined he didn’t have the type of client relationship with that lawyer that would force her to turn over the documents. The Supreme Court judge suggested he try to find the records through the union’s privacy office instead.
The judge dismissed Casavant’s petition, but the matter may not be finished.
These days, Casavant lectures at Royal Roads University. He’s a Canadian Forces veteran who served in Afghanistan and later went on to work with fish and wildlife in B.C. He’s the author of The Credible Rebel: 10 Lessons for an Advocate LifeĀ and has spoken about policing affairs at all levels of B.C. courts and the Supreme Court of Canada.
Daily Hive has reached out to Casavant for comment.