Does P.E.I. need service animal standards?

A national foundation that trains and provides service dogs to people with disabilities says the P.E.I. government would be wise to create service animal standards.

As it stands, P.E.I. does not have legislation that defines what qualifies as a service animal, nor is there is a process for licensing them.

"I think having standards is a really important thing," said Alex Ivic, program director with the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides. "You want to make sure that the dogs are doing something to support Canadians with disabilities."

The fact P.E.I. doesn't have service animal standards was highlighted this week by Steve Wotton, an Islander with epilepsy struggling to find an apartment.

Wotton said his dog Nova has learned to alert people nearby when he starts having a seizure, and he considers her a service animal.

Although, many landlords with "no pets" policies have turned him away, he said, insisting they need proof Nova actually is a service animal before they can accommodate him.

"But there's no way you can get anything like that on P.E.I.," said Wotton.

B.C., Alberta rules eliminate 'grey area'

Ivic said it's a different story in British Columbia and Alberta.

In both provinces, service dogs need to either be trained at a government-certified school, or are required to pass a test proving their ability to assist their owner.

They are then issued an I.D. indicating they're government-approved service animals.

Ivic thinks P.E.I. should consider a similar approach.

"So people would then know if they have a government I.D. card … that dog should have public access," he said. "I think it eliminates a lot of grey area for the general public if they're not too sure what they're allowed to ask or not ask."

Risk of more barriers?

But the P.E.I. Human Rights Commission worries that approach could create more barriers for people with disabilities.

Brenda Picard, the commission's executive director, said she's heard of situations where people with guide dogs have run into problems while in provinces that require registration cards.

"Maybe they're not from that province. … And people are saying 'Well, if you don't have your card you can't get in.' And so it's creating more barriers than it's reducing."

Picard maintains landlords and staff at other businesses should trust people with disabilities who identify their dogs as service animals, as long as they're behaving appropriately.

In her opinion, what's needed is more education to help Islanders understand "that they do have an obligation to treat service animals differently than a pet."

A spokesperson for the P.E.I. government said to date the province hasn't considered adopting formal service animal legislation.

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