Final debate on Montreal's proposed pit bull bylaw delayed until Tuesday
The final municipal council debate and vote on the City of Montreal's controversial new dog bylaw will now take place tomorrow.
A busy agenda Monday night saw the debate pushed to Tuesday around 11 a.m., councillor Marvin Rotrand tweeted.
The bylaw would ban new ownership of pit bulls, and place restrictions on people who already own the breed.
"I have to make sure that, no matter where you live, that people will feel safe," said Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre outside of the meeting.
Around 100 opponents of the ban gathered outside City Hall in anticipation of the vote Monday evening, some bearing signs proclaiming "My Canada includes all dogs" and "All dogs are equal."
"My dog is like my family and I feel like she's being attacked. She's never hurt anybody or did anything wrong," said pit bull owner Stéphanie Fournier through tears.
"I feel like I'm being treated as a criminal. Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?" asked Jennifer McComb.
The debate, which will be followed by municipal council's vote on the bylaw, comes about a month after Montreal unveiled its proposal for the changes to its animal control bylaw.
Not all boroughs had adopted the previous bylaw, passed in 2012. Some had adopted a modified version, but the new bylaw will apply to all 19 boroughs.
The city will define pit bulls as:
- Staffordshire bull terriers.
- American pit bull terriers.
- American Staffordshire terriers.
- Any mix with these breeds.
- Any dog that presents characteristics of one of those breeds.
Those who already own one of those kinds of dogs and already live in Montreal will have to acquire a special permit in order to keep their pet.
The bylaw also creates two categories of dogs of all breeds: at-risk and dangerous. At-risk dogs are those that exhibit aggressive behaviour, such as biting someone. Dangerous dogs are those that have killed someone or are deemed dangerous by an expert.
Fatal attack speeds up process
The city announced in May it would overhaul its animal control bylaw by 2018.
Councillor Anie Samson, vice-chair of the city's executive committee and responsible for the animal file, said at the time that the city was looking at how to target all dangerous dogs, not just pit bulls, and that a ban was only one option being explored.
However, in June, Pointe-aux-Trembles resident Christiane Vadnais was attacked by a dog and killed. The dog was initially identified as a pit bull, but police say they are still waiting for DNA test results.
Her death, along with the mauling of a young girl in Brossard last year, spurred a number of cities and towns around Montreal to implement their own breed-specific legislation.
Detractors of breed-specific legislation say it does nothing to curb the number of dog bites, and that legislation should target owners, not dogs.
Ten days after 55-year-old Vadnais died, Montreal announced its intention to follow suit and ban pit bulls across Montreal's 19 boroughs. In August, the city unveiled its proposed legislation.
