February 2005 News
28-Feb-2005 08:26 AM
Ladysmith, British Columbia
proposes BSL amendments to its dog control bylaws. Includes Staffies.
The town of Ladysmith, British Columbia
has proposed BSL amendments to its
dog control bylaw.
The amendments define "pit bulls" as restricted dogs and "pit bulls" are defined as a:
Pit Bull Terrier, American Pit Bull Terrier, American
Staffordshire Terrier, English Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Terrier; and any dog of
mixed breeding, which includes the aforementioned breeds.
Ladysmith town council will hold third reading of the amendments on
Monday, March 7th, 2005 at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall,
410 Esplanade, Ladysmith B.C.
26-Feb-2005 09:41 AM
3rd Reading of Bill 132
to begin Monday, February 28, 2005.
3rd Reading of Bill 132
has been scheduled for Monday, February 28, 2005. The vote on the bill
is expected on March 1, 2005. If you can not attend the debate, it will
be broadcast live on the Ontario Legislative channel. Please check with
your cable or satellite provider for the channel. Coverage begins at
1:30 pm EST. Please watch to see how your MPP votes.
26-Feb-2005 09:41 AM
Staffordshire Bull Terriers and Liability Insurance
"When you hear the phrase 'one million dollar liability insurance' it sounds so daunting.
What exactly does this mean?" SBTCC member Christine Wiebe Buchanan, M.Sc. offers
this article
on obtaining homeowner's insurance for you and your Staffordshire Bull Terrier.
Requires:
Adobe Acrobat Reader.
13-Feb-2005 10:09 PM
URGENT - City of Vancouver
On Thursday, February 17, 2005, this report --
http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20050217/pe2.htm --
goes to Vancouver city council on Thursday. In 1987, Vancouver
city council passed a bylaw defining a "vicious" dog as any dog
that has bitten another animal or human without provocation, or
any dog with a known propensity or disposition to attack without
provocation, or a Pit Bull Terrier, American Pit Bull Terrier, Pit Bull,
Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, or any
dog of mixed breeding that includes any of the aforementioned breeds.
The 1987 bylaw required these dogs to be muzzled in public.
On Thursday, Vancouver city council will vote
on a recommendation for tighter restrictions, including:
- requiring owners of vicious dogs to carry $1 million in liability insurance;
- requiring them to display "vicious dog" warning signs;
- requiring owners to notify the city within 24 hours if the
dog has gotten loose or attacked another dog or person.
13-Feb-2005 11:08 AM
URGENT - Liberals vote down proposed opposition amendments to Bill 132 in clause by clause reading
The final day of the committee review of Bill 132 ended on Friday, February 11.
This day was set aside to make amendments to the bill before it is returned
to the House for final vote.
All opposing parties' amendments were rejected, including amendments to remove the
breed specific portions of the bill, as well as number of recommendations
from the coroner's inquest into the death of
Courtney Trempe .
Courtney Trempe, who was tragically killed in Stouffville in 1998, is the last person in
Ontario to have been killed in a dog-related fatality. During the public hearings,
her mother Donna Trempe asked the Liberals to write "Courtney's Law"
; sadly Bill 132 will not be "Courtney's Law".
Minor changes were made by the Liberals: all designed to make it easier to call a dog a "pit bull"
and to convict the owner. The CKC/AKC/UKC/ADBA breed standards for Staffordshire Bull Terriers,
American Staffordshire Terriers, and American Pit Bull Terriers will now also be referenced
in Bill 132 for the purposes of identifying a dog as a "pit bull".
The amended bill may be found at: http://www.ontla.on.ca/documents/Bills/38_Parliament/Session1/b132rep_e.htm
09-Feb-2005 04:30 PM
URGENT - Liberals table amendments to Bill 132 - BSL Portions NOT Removed
The amendments have been tabled and the A-G will not be proposing the
removal of bsl or the removal of any purebreds from the legislation.
Such proposals will be made tomorrow by the PC and NDP parties.
Please take a moment to call the Liberal committee members (asap) to ask
them to support one of the PC or NDP amendments in this regard.
Julie
07-Feb-2005 08:19 PM
Hansard for Standing Committee on the Legislative Assembly Regarding Bill 132 Available
Legal Defense Fund: Fighting Bill 132 and Breed Specific Legislation
07-Feb-2005 08:24 PM
The
SBTCC is a member of the Banned Aid Coalition, which also comprises the
Dog
Legislation Council of Canada, American
Staffordshire Terrier Club of Canada, Golden
Horseshoe APBT Club, and the Advocates for the Underdog. The site has an
online auction with the proceeds going to
the legal fund to fight BSL.
"Bu" and Mike Kelly enjoy Staffie Tales
All
monies collected by the groups involved
will be placed in this account.
At present our club is collecting money for our Legal
Defense Fund. This money will be then sent
to the Banned Aid account. Clive Wilkinson,
SBTCC President, is one of the signatories
on this account.
Cheques for our legal defense fund can be
sent to:
-
Belle Campeau
-
7339 Fourth Line Rd.
-
RR#4
-
Kemptville, ON K0G 1J0
Please make payable to "Belle Campeau -
LEGAL DEFENCE ACCOUNT". We will provide
a full accounting for the use of these
funds when required. If you would like your
donation to apply specifically to be used
to hire a lawyer please mark "Legal
retainer" on your cheque.
07-Feb-2005 08:24 PM
So What do We do Now?
It is imperative that we continue to
contact our MPPs by letter, by telephone
and in person to ask them not to support
Bill 132. For help with letters or
presentations to MPPs, please see the links
to Anti-BSL
resources and Anti-BSL sites that
have been reported on this site. Links to
these pages will be permanently available
from the Political
Action/ Breed Specific Legislation
page. Talk to people about what you are going through -- friends, relatives, co-workers,
neighbours, kennel clubs, other dog owners -- especially those
who know you and your dogs. Ask them to make their voices heard as well.
Give them a copy of this Bill 132 Brochure
that explains how the legislation will affect ALL dog owners.
Please note: ALL letters to provincial
MPPs REQUIRE postage.
Please consider including one of these
"Ontario Pays Back" flyers in with your
letters.
Requires: Adobe Acrobat Reader.
The complete list of current MPPs and their
Toronto and constituency addresses may be
found at: http://olaap.ontla.on.ca/mpp/daIndex.do?locale=en.
A good site to stay abreast of developments
in this issue in Ontario is the Yahoo.com
Group called stoponbsl (Stop Breed
Bans in Ontario). There are several SBTCC
members and fellow Staffie enthusiasts
already in the group, and it is a good
forum to keep in touch with one another. It
is found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stoponbsl/.
07-Feb-2005 08:26 PM
If You Live Outside of Ontario
Ontario's politicians need to hear your opinion as well! Please let the Government of Ontario and
Ontario's municipalities how Bill 132 or breed specific legislation will affect your plans to tour, conduct business,
or settle in the province.
Key Government Sites
- The Hon. Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario
- The Hon. Jim Bradley, Minister of Tourism and Recreation
- The Hon. Jim Watson, Minister of Consumer and Business Affairs
- The Hon. Greg Sorbara, Minister of Finance
- Links to the Municipalities of Ontario
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