A failed plan to amalgamate its Prince George and Kamloops affiliates is at the heart of the Habitat for Humanity conflict now before the B.C. Supreme Court, the Hearts and Hands for Homes Society indicated in a court document filed Friday.
The society said its board of directors "vigorously opposed" the plan, allegedly hatched sometime between 2010 and 2012, that would have seen all of its properties and assets transferred to the Kamloops affiliate and the Prince George affiliate dissolved.
"This opposition triggered an avalanche of reviews, demands and new standards insisted upon by the Plaintiff [Habitat Canada] and calculated to ensure that Hearts and Hands would be unable to satisfy," the society said in the filing.
"The Plaintiff's action is nothing more than a colourful attempt to accomplish through litigation what it could not through Hearts and Hands agreement."
In November 2013, the national organization filed a notice of civil claim in answer to a refusal by the local group, now known as Hearts and Hands for Homes Society, to hand over its assets after it was disaffiliated from Habitat Canada.
The claim outlines a falling out that dates back to September 2012 when Habitat Canada said it uncovered a "multitude of problems and issues" while conducting a routine assessment of Hearts and Hands and operation of the ReStore, a store on Queensway that sells used furniture and salvaged building material.
Hearts and Hands countersued, claiming Habitat Canada is simply looking for ways to seize the assets of its former Prince George affiliate in order to tackle its own financial woes.
In the latest filing, Hearts and Hands goes on to say it never took any grant money from Habitat Canada, and instead relied exclusively on donations from local sources to achieve its stated purpose of building homes for low-income families in Prince George.
As a consequence, Hearts and Hands said whether Habitat can seize those assets is in doubt because they were not acquired by the use of grant funds from the national organization. The value of the assets Hearts and Hands acquired is estimated at $2 million, according to the filing.
Hearts and Hands also claims Habitat Canada violated the parties' affiliation agreement in various ways and called into question whether it was legitimate in the first place given there is no evidence the associated bylaw policies were ever confirmed by the local group.
It also said several Hearts and Hands employees were wrongfully dismissed by Habitat Canada, costing the local group at least $62,000. Details on how that came about were not provided.
Hearts and Hands is also seeking to have a trial set for Nov. 5 -6 adjourned, claiming Habitat Canada has not yet provided all relevant documents. A hearing on that matter is set for Friday in Vancouver.
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