TO CLARIFY THE INFORMATION POSTED ON FACEBOOK THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 10th 

HSY ASKS FOR THE COMMUNITY’S SUPPORT

• ·         On December 12, 2018, Humane Society Yukon (HSY) launched a GoFundMe campaign with a target of $25,000 to seek the       community’s help to maintain the operation of the Animal Shelter
• ·         Why has HSY taken this step?
• ·         The answer is that it is defending its right and its responsibility to protect its staff from harassment at the Shelter.
• ·         The following background is designed to enable people to understand what happened.

BACKGROUND

• ·         On August 23, 2018, HSY received a harassment complaint alleging that 5 staff members were harassed by a member of the Board of Directors of HSY and his spouse, who is a member of HSY.
• ·         The complaint alleged that this incident occurred on August 21, 2018. We note that the decision of Judge Menzies in the Supreme Court of Yukon inadvertently said that the complaint was received on October 24, 2017. This is an error.
• ·         HSY has an obligation as an employer to provide a safe and productive workplace and a duty to investigate complaints of harassment in the workplace and to take steps to remedy any situation that leads to harassment.
• ·         On October 2, 2018, the director and his wife who are the subject of the harassment complaint brought a lawsuit against HSY and a number of the directors.
• ·         The sole purpose of this lawsuit was to stop HSY from investigating these harassment complaints.
• ·         Because of the legal duties to investigate complaints of harassment in the workplace HSY and the remaining directors had no choice but to defend against the plaintiffs’ lawsuit and to oppose the injunction brought by the plaintiffs to stop the investigation.
• ·         Justice Menzies found that the plaintiffs had attempted to block a lawful process of investigation and that there was no merit in the plaintiffs’ claim or application for injunction.
• ·         Justice Menzies awarded HSY $2500 in costs which is higher than normally awarded for such an application.
• ·         During the hearing Justice Menzies stated that because of the lawsuit none of the board members could be considered as independent and properly able to conduct the investigation into the harassment complaints.
• ·         Because none of the board members could be considered independent, HSY has had to hire an outside independent investigator to conduct the investigation which HSY is obligated to do.
• ·         Shortly after Justice Menzies made his decision the plaintiffs unilaterally withdrew their lawsuit.
• ·         Because of the lawsuit HSY has incurred significant costs not covered by its insurance to defend the lawsuit and to oppose the injunction as well as to hire an outside independent investigator.
• ·         Had the plaintiffs not brought their lawsuit, which was without merit, none of the legal costs would have been incurred, and the investigation would have been conducted by board members who have experience in dealing with complaints.
• ·         HSY has taken all reasonable steps to reduce the costs it has incurred due to the actions of this board member and his spouse.

Impact on HSY

• ·         HSY operates with a tight budget. For the year 2017-18, there was a 3.4% margin of revenue over expenditure.
• ·         Any unforeseen costs shift this balance, and make budget management more challenging.

FAQs

Q: Why the need for a GoFundMe?

A: Because the budget has been impacted by costs imposed on HSY over which it had no choice.

Q: How was the target of $25,000 determined?

A: Total imposed costs to date are approximately $20,000.

Q: Is this inconsistent with the insurance deductible of $10,000 that has also been mentioned?

A: As these matters are ongoing, there is considerable uncertainly in what is covered by insurance and whether the deductible is once-only or not. HSY is working closely with its insurers but the final costs it has to incur remain uncertain.

Q: How can people feel confident their donations to HSY will not just be spent on lawyers’ fees?

A: People can feel confident that HSY did not choose any of this. HSY was simply carrying out its responsibilities to protect its staff. At most, in consulting with a lawyer early in the investigation process to ensure it conducted the investigation properly, HSY would have spent a few hundred dollars. Again, having to conduct an investigation was not chosen by HSY but forced upon it as a necessary response to complaints from 5 staff at the Shelter.

Other than this, HSY has only used legal advice to enable it to defend itself against a lawsuit.

HSY’s insurance coverage costs will likely increase by approximately $3,500 per year for a number of years as a result of having to defend itself in the Supreme Court of Yukon.

A further cost is the fees it will incur (again, not through its own choice) to complete its independent investigation.

Q: Will there be a proper financial accounting of these matters?

A: HSY is obligated under the Societies Act to submit annual financial reports to the Registrar. This will be done, in accordance with usual practice, at the end of the 2018-19 financial year. All revenues and expenditures, including expenditures forced upon HSY, will be accounted for.

HSY Accomplishments

HSY provides a vital service to all pet-lovers in the Yukon. Many people in the Yukon are the satisfied owners of pets they adopted through the Animal Shelter. The Animal Shelter is part of the fabric of Yukon life.

Without the Animal Shelter, the community in the Yukon would be missing an essential piece of the jigsaw, a vital part of its soul. It would somehow be a less humane community. That is why people volunteer, contribute, and participate by fostering and adopting animals.

Some key accomplishments of HSY over the past few years.

• ·         Approximately 500 animals placed in new homes every year.
• ·         Various improvements to Shelter: new kennel flooring, 10,000 sq. ft. grassed exercise yard for dogs.
• ·         Successful fundraising activities (annual golf tournament, raffles, dogwash at Feedstore, grocery bagging, weekly bingo, sales of HSY merchandise).
• ·         38% increase in Yukon Government funding from April 2017 under the 2017/2018 Transfer Payment Agreement.
• ·         Participation in City of Whitehorse consultation on bylaws (including animal bylaws) in 2018.
• ·         Annual business planning cycle and quarterly Shelter reports provided to Yukon Government.

IN SUMMARY: WHY SUPPORT HSY?

HSY is a hard-working and dedicated Board, operating an Animal Shelter that has a great deal of good will in the community. It is being attacked and undermined by a small number of people who do not accept its right to operate the Animal Shelter under the Societies Act.

Operating an Animal Shelter is challenging. It requires many operational decisions about how to deal with animals and how to run a Shelter for them. We have to have an orderly workplace in which staff feel they will be safe and can carry out their responsibilities to take care of the animals at the Shelter.

Because we are a volunteer Board, we are always trying to do lots of things with limited resources. We are in good standing as a Society, which validates our standing as a Board that complies with its statutory requirements. We have made things better at the Shelter and with the Board compared to previous years.

This situation is not a repetition of events of 2012-13, that many people remember and sometimes refer to. HSY is in compliance with its requirements. If the Registrar raises any concerns about this with us, we will respond in a cooperative and solution-focused way.

It is those individuals who do not accept our right to manage the Shelter and the Society who are imposing totally unnecessary and unjustified legal costs on the Society.

Please support our efforts to protect staff and volunteers while exercising our responsibilities to serve the animals and the community.

GO FUND ME SITE

Humane SCY Reasons Judgment.pdf