Canada: State of the Province
(Ontario)
August 31, 2007
State of the Province
PLEASE SEND THIS TO EVERY ONTARIO DOG OWNER YOU KNOW! **
Preferably, you will send them the link to this article, but this is
important enough that, if you need to copy/paste the text, feel free.
The direct link to this article is
HERE.
August 29, 2007 was the two-year anniversary of Ontario's Bill 132
(usually known as the "pit bull" ban). What has happened in
Ontario during those two years?
Two people in this province (including a one and a half year old child)
have been killed by dogs, none by "pit bull" type dogs.
Almost without exception, the mainstream media organizations, when
notified of serious attacks on people and on animals by other types of
dogs, have responded with a mind-boggling lack of interest.
Not a "pit bull"? Not interested. Thank you for your call.
Michael Bryant, the Attorney General of Ontario and the political
architect of this law, has been on television telling people that
attacks by pit bulls have been reduced and that Ontarians are now safer
than ever before. Funny that the most expert, most knowledgeable, and
most connected people in the province can't find any information to
prove the truth of that statement. Even a brief investigation into
municipal bite statistics reveals that, in most cases, the specific data
required to make that type of statement doesn't exist or is incomplete
or inaccurate.
In this province, over the past two years, authorities have targeted,
threatened, and confiscated a staggering number of dogs of many breeds
and types. Here is just a short list:
- Seven-week-old mixed-breed puppies
- American Bulldog
- Bull Terrier
- Chesapeake Bay Retriever
- Collie/Jack Russell mix
- Dalmatian
- Dogue de Bordeaux
- Hungarian Vizla
- Jack Russell Terrier cross
- Labrador Retriever
- Neapolitan mastiff
- Rhodesian Ridgeback
- Rottweiler
A record number of dogs of all shapes and sizes have been confiscated
and killed in this province over the past two years, all accused of
being "pit bulls". An unknown, unidentifiable, non-existent "breed" has
somehow managed to be regularly and frequently identified by
unqualified, untrained personnel and, because of the way the law is
written, once that unqualified, often biased, person has identified your
dog as a "pit bull", the chance of you ever seeing your dog again is
pretty well nil.
Many of these confiscations have occurred without proof of wrongdoing,
without warrants, through the use of threats and intimidation. Owners
have been threatened with arrest, with imprisonment, with inappropriate
use-of-force, and with the removal of other pets in the house if they
don't surrender the particular dogs in question. Police officers have
been encouraged to shoot loose-running dogs on sight, regardless of
breed (although short, stocky dogs are definitely more at risk) and
regardless of the actions or temperaments of the dogs.
In this province, it's starting to feel like dogs of any breed have
become the new targets for police officers' shooting practice. Of course
that's an exaggeration, but there is definitely a trend towards a "shoot
first, offer cookie later" approach.
Ontario TV shows, radio shows, and newspaper articles have categorized
ALL "pit bull" owners in the province as moronic, dangerous, and
irresponsible, as gangsters, criminals, and macho thugs. Many have added
owners of other breeds to this list as well.
These uninformed and hate-filled opinions have created a "climate of
fear", not just toward the dogs, but also toward their owners. They have
legitimized and, in some cases, encouraged vigilantism against an
identifiable group of law-abiding, responsible citizens.
Dog owners have been assaulted, threatened, spat upon, had bottles
thrown at them. Their dogs have been kicked, burned with cigarettes,
threatened with death, doused with scalding hot coffee.
Dog owners are being forced, through various cities' extreme and
draconian restrictions, to choose between their residence and their pet.
Those who can't leave because of family, mortgages, or jobs are forced
to give up their dogs. Dogs are being dropped off, often abandoned, at
local shelters in record numbers. The "humane" solution that Michael
Bryant proposed is causing the deaths of hundreds of dogs each and every
day.
People have lost their houses, their jobs, their friends, and even their
families because of the shape of their dog's head. Neighborhood children
are no longer allowed to play with the dog owners' children. Neighbors
refuse to even say hello and, in many cases, call the police or animal
control over minor or even untrue complaints.
The type of dog a person owns is now becoming an issue in child custody
battles.
People are being evicted from rental housing, are unable to obtain
rental housing, cannot buy condominiums, and cannot get tenant's or
homeowner's liability insurance. Falsified complaints of bites,
attempted bites, and menacing behavior are made by groups of tenants who
band together to rid their building of dogs that they think might be
"pit bulls".
Many dog owners have resorted to walking their dogs in remote areas or
late at night to avoid becoming targets. Many more simply use their
backyards to exercise their dogs. These attempts to keep themselves and
their dogs safe often result in behavioral problems that did not exist
previously, due to lack of socialization, training, and simple daily
exposure to people, animals, places, and situations.
It is now illegal for hundreds of thousands of Canadian dog owners to
vacation with their dogs in Ontario or even to pass through the province
when traveling from one part of the country to another. Visitors from
the United States and other countries are now advised on travel websites
to avoid Ontario if they own a dog, regardless of breed, due to the
serious misidentification problems and the reverse-onus provisions of
the law (i.e., you have to PROVE the breed of your dog, a scientific
impossibility).
Tourism has suffered. Dog shows, fly ball and agility competitions,
camping trips, and family visits have been cancelled or seriously
impacted because of this legislation.
Even municipalities that disagree with this type of breed-specific
legislation are now burdened with the additional (and not insignificant)
costs of enforcing an unenforceable law. Many of them have seen an
increase in the number of calls from uninformed, paranoid residents
about neighboring "pit bulls" with each call requiring an officer to
drive out, investigate, identify (or not), report, follow up, and
possibly charge and prosecute.
Those municipalities with overzealous, biased animal control personnel
now find themselves mired in unparalleled numbers of court cases. All of
this is at the expense of taxpayers. Thanks to the parroting of
government press releases by the mainstream media and the blind use of
sound bites from government press conferences, many members of the
public actually think that this McGuinty Liberal government is
protecting them and their children.
In Ontario, there are at least 2.3 million dogs, probably more. There
are, at last count, about 4.5 million families. So, on average, there is
one dog for every two families in the province. Admittedly, some people
have more than one dog, but the number of dog owners in Ontario is still
hugely significant.
Dog owners are one of the largest demographics in the province. And the
vast majority of dog owners do NOT agree with this law.
They do not agree with killing unoffending, well-behaved dogs simply
because of the way they look. They do not agree with the confiscation
and destruction of newborn puppies. They do not agree with the
legislated persecution of law-abiding, responsible citizens who have
done nothing except pick the wrong dog to love.
Many, many voters, both dog owners and people without dogs in their
families, have recognized this as a purely political move, designed to
give the uninformed public the impression of action and protection. With
a little common sense and a basic understanding of human rights, they
see it as a way for this government to circumvent the Canadian Charter
of Rights and Freedoms by allowing unreasonable search and seizure, by
discriminating against a specific, identifiable group of citizens, and
by threatening or actually imposing upon those citizens hefty fines,
confiscation of property, and imprisonment because of a vague definition
that is arbitrarily enforced.
In a number of court cases in Ontario, the provincial Attorney General's
office has intervened in municipal prosecutions of dog owners to make
sure they secure convictions in as many "pit bull" cases as possible.
Dog owners, unaware of the law, perhaps unable to afford lawyers, unsure
as to how to proceed, find themselves in court against the Ministry of
the Attorney General of Ontario, against the same government lawyers
that defended the government against a constitutional challenge from one
of the best civil rights lawyers in the country. What chance can these
dog owners possibly have?
This Ontario Liberal government has shown us time and time again that
they are more than willing to sacrifice whomever and whatever to appear
to increase public safety, without ever bothering to check the facts or
listen to the experts.
If this government had been even remotely concerned about public safety,
instead of getting in the right sound bite for the evening news, they
would have taken the advice of the opposing parties and, even more so,
the advice of the experts who testified in front of them and the experts
who produced recommendations from two coroners' inquests.
Every single credible expert and animal-related organization, including
experts in legislation, dog behavior, and bite prevention, told the
government not to do this. Michael Bryant publicly stated that he would
listen to the experts, but when every single expert told him it was a
bad idea, not only did the Liberals press ahead with the law, but they
actually made amendments to it to make it worse than it was originally,
then they forced a "whipped vote" in the legislature, after Dalton
McGuinty publicly stated that he would allow his members to vote their
conscience in every matter not related to the budget.
In early 2005, prior to the four latest deaths by dogs in Canada (none
by "pit bulls"), the Ontario Liberals were asked repeatedly to fund a
provincial dog bite prevention and education program.
They refused.
They were asked to implement a provincial responsible dog ownership
program.
They refused.
They were asked to create a provincial dog bite registry.
They refused.
They were asked to provide municipalities with appropriate funding to
ensure effective animal bylaw enforcement.
They refused.
All of these requests were based on recommendations from the coroner's
inquest into the death of eight-year-old Courtney Trempe in 1998. All of
these recommendations came from experts in dog breeding, behavior, and
bite prevention.
Instead, the government decided to ban a vague, non-existent shape of
dog that barely registers in most dog bite statistics, simply to score
political points. Their changes to the Dog Owners' Liability Act had
nothing to do with public safety and everything to do with politics.
The way the law is written right now, it is entirely possible and
conceivable for the following things to happen:
a) Police can enter my home, seize my dog, kill it, and put me in jail
because of the shape of my dog's head or because of the particular type
of dog that I choose to live with. This is not about "pit bulls". We
have documented many instances where dogs of other breeds have been
identified as pit bulls and have been confiscated or the owners have
been put through hell trying to save their dogs. There are at least 30
different purebred breeds of dogs that "look like" the dogs that the
Liberals are supposedly targeting.
b) Police can enter my home, seize my dog, kill it, and put me in jail
if someone feels threatened by my dog or even if they feel that their
own animal is threatened by my dog, even if my dog is on my own
property. A neighbor who doesn't like me can easily cause my dog to be
confiscated. This last section has nothing to do with breed. Every dog
owner in this province is affected by this portion of the law.
This law has been used to force therapy dogs and service dogs to be
muzzled. It has been used to identify seven-week-old puppies as being a
"menace to public safety". Since this law has been enacted, three
children and one adult have died in Canada, two in Ontario, all killed
by dogs that were not "pit bulls". These past two years have been record
years for dogs killing people and not once was a "pit bull" involved.
How is public safety being enhanced?
So what is the solution?
Since we have made all possible attempts to negotiate and communicate
with the current Liberal government and since we have been rebuffed at
every turn, we are left with only two things to do:
1. Take them to court.
2. Vote them out of office.
We have taken them to court. The judge found that various portions of
the law violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but left
the rest of the law as is.
In order to continue this fight, the Dog Legislation Council of Canada
needs funds. Your rights as a dog owner are at risk, regardless of the
type of dog you own. The DLCC is fighting for those rights. If you don't
want to see the erosion and removal of the rights of all dog owners in
this province (including yourself), then you need to help. Don't just
say thanks. Don't just say to yourself, "what a great job they're doing"
or "at least somebody's fighting this stupid law". Put some money toward
this fight. Ten dollars, a hundred dollars, or a thousand. Do something.
Visit
http://www.doglegislationcouncilcanada.org/ for more details.
Now, to the second option.
Most experts in the fields of dog bites and dog legislation feel that
this government, if voted back into office, will target additional
breeds or will use the existing law and its vague definitions to go
after all sorts of dogs.
Even without further changes, only half of the existing law usually
known as the "pit bull ban" actually targets "pit bulls". There are some
significant and scary portions of this law that already target all dogs,
regardless of breed or type, including public seizure and warrant less
entry into homes. The six months in jail and $10,000 fine doesn't just
apply to "pit bull" owners. Neither does the ability to seize any dog
based on unproven complaints.
This government, along with certain municipalities that seem to have
been encouraged and supported by the Attorney General's office, seems to
be comprised of either out-and-out dog-haters or of spineless "yes men"
(and women) who aren't willing to risk their political career in the
Ontario Liberal Party in order to stand up for the province's dog
owners.
Experts agree that, in the next two years, we will probably see
additional changes to the Dog Owners' Liability Act that will make the
current one seem mild.
We CANNOT allow this government to remain in office.
The other two major political parties in Ontario (Progressive
Conservative and New Democrats) have said publicly and privately that
they disagree with this law and that they would like to see it replaced
with strict, no-nonsense legislation that targets the behavior of
irresponsible owners.
Unlike the current legislation introduced by the McGuinty government,
the approach suggested by the other parties has been proven to reduce
dog bites.
While we wait for further decisions in higher courts, we MUST vote this
government out of office on October 10.
If you are a dog owner, get out and vote. I don't care if you've never
done it before. I don't care if you even know how to do it.
Call 1-888-668-8683, tell them where you live, and ask them to explain
everything to you.
If you're not on the voters list, go to the Ontario Elections website to
see what ID you need to just show up and vote. The link is:
http://www.elections.on.ca/en-CA/FAQs/IDRequirements.htm
It's not hard, really.
If you really want to make a difference, vote strategically.
Find out who is your current Member of Provincial Parliament.
Use the Ontario Elections website to type in your postal code and find
your electoral district. The link is:
http://www2.elections.on.ca/fyed/en/form_page_en.jsp
Then go to the Ontario Legislature website and find your district in the list on the right. The link is HERE.
Then click the member's name on the left to find out if they're
Liberal, Conservative, or NDP.
If your current MPP is not Liberal, then vote for that same party again.
The party previously elected in your riding is the most likely one to
win again there.
If your current MPP is Liberal, then you can view the previous election
at the Ontario Elections website. The link is:
http://www.elections.on.ca/en-CA/Tools/PastResults.htm
If your riding was in a by-election since 2003, then check out the
by-election results. Otherwise, look at the 2003 General Election
results (Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate).
See which party was closest in votes below the winner and vote for that
party.
Of course, you have to vote your conscience. If your political beliefs
don't allow you to vote for Conservative, then vote NDP. Or vice versa.
Just don't vote Liberal.
Not if you love your dog and you care about your rights as a dog owner
and as a Canadian citizen.
Because it's glaringly obvious that they sure as hell don't.
-- END --
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© Copyright 2007 Steve Barker