Canadian conservation officer, 37, fired for refusing to kill two orphaned bear cubs in 2015 files lawsuit to be reinstated with a salary of up to $75,000 and to receive up to five years of back pay
A former Canadian conservation officer who was fired for refusing to kill two orphaned bear cubs in 2015 has sued to get his job back.
At the time, thousands rallied support for Bryce Casavant, 37, of British Columbia, Canada, who was initially suspended without pay before being terminated from his position.
He made international headlines when he refused an order to kill the cubs after he had shot dead their mother for repeatedly raiding a freezer of a mobile home near Port Hardy.
Casavant was subsequently fired from his position for refusing an order and despite being terminated, he is suing to get his job back.
Canadian conservation officer, Bryce Casavant (left and right), who was fired for refusing to kill two orphaned bear cubs in 2015 has reportedly sued to get his job back
Last year, Casavant won a lengthy legal fight over his dismissal. In the initial court ruling, a judge said Casavant acted within the law when he decided to rescue to cubs (Casavant pictured with one cub in 2015)
The complaint says that Casavant’s 'supervising officer filed a complaint against him for refusing to follow the order to euthanize the cubs'.
'On July 6, the day after the incident, a formal Notice of Complaint was issued to Mr. Casavant under the Conservation Officer Service Complaints Policy alleging "the disciplinary default of neglect of duty".'
According to court documents, 'Casavant formed the view that killing the cubs in these circumstances would be inconsistent with Ministry policy'.
'Instead of complying with the kill order, he took the cubs to a veterinarian who assessed them and transferred them to the North Island Recovery Centre. They were eventually released into the wild,' the document said.
Last year, Casavant won a lengthy legal fight over his dismissal.
In the initial court ruling, a judge said Casavant acted within the law when he decided to rescue to cubs, according to Unilad.
Despite that ruling he was not allowed to return to his job. In fact, his badge was not reactivated and his uniform was not reissued by the government.
Last month, Casavant filed a lawsuit asking his former employer to reinstate him as an employee and give him the pay he's lost over the past five years.
Meanwhile, the two cubs Casavant refused to kill were rehabilitated and named Jordan and Athena
The cubs (pictured) were successfully released back into the wild
According to the Toronto Star, Casavant's complaint is asking that he receives declaration that he is still a conservation officer and was not legally dismissed.
Casavant told the news outlet: 'I have always maintained that a constable cannot be ordered to kill — it's an illegal order. Public service policing has been my passion and chosen career path since my early twenties.
'It is disgraceful and frustrating to be continually denied the ability to immediately return to my post.'
His lawyer is asking that Casavant receive a salary between $55,000 to $75,000 in addition to back pay.
'Mr Casavant simply wants the job which was unlawfully taken from him back,' his lawyer Arden Beddoes, told the Toronto Star.
'The process that was used to take his job was declared void by the Court of Appeal, so there is no lawful basis for the province to deny him that.'
Meanwhile, the two cubs Casavant refused to kill were rehabilitated and named Jordan and Athena.
They were successfully released back into the wild.
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