Dog issue raises ugly head
Fans of pit bulls protest to have ban put down By JONATHAN JENKINS, QUEEN'S PARK BUREAU Last Updated: 19th November 2009, 3:56am
The last legal pit bulls in Ontario sat patiently muzzled at their owners' feet yesterday at a rally demanding an end to the four-year-old ban on the dogs.
"It's the deed not the breed," New Democrat MPP Cheri Di Novo said.
"The problem is the bill is badly drafted and badly implemented. Since the legislation was introduced, there have actually been more, not less, fatal dog attacks in Ontario and none of those attacks have involved quote unquote pit bulls."
LAUNCHED CHALLENGE
Di Novo said she was introducing a private member's bill at Queen's Park, one to end the pit bull ban brought in by former attorney general Michael Bryant.
Sitting beside Di Novo was lawyer Clayton Ruby, who launched an unsuccessful constitutional challenge to the law.
"The craziness is in thinking you can judge a dog's dangerousness by how he looks," Ruby said. "That just isn't possible."
About 60 people took part in the rally, including Meaford resident Ronda Tanfield, who owns three English bull terriers.
Her dogs aren't captured by the legislation but she still thinks it's wrong.
"This law is targeting the wrong end of the leash. It should be targeting responsible dog ownership and instead it targets a particular breed," Tanfield said, as 10-year-old Elvira tugged at its leash.
Bryant has since left Queen's Park for a new job at the City of Toronto, only to resign shortly after being charged in the death of a cyclist.
His old boss, Premier Dalton McGuinty, said the government has no plans to reopen the pit bull ban debate.
"It's about public safety," McGuinty said.
"We got the best advice we could and put together legislation that we felt would uphold public safety."
JONATHAN.JENKINS@SUNMEDIA.CA
http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2009/11/19/11804711-sun.html
