Members of all parties support private bill to end Ontario’s pit bull ban
Posted February 24, 2012 7:33 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO, Ont. – Members of all parties in the legislature voted in favour of a bill urging the Ontario government to withdraw its ban on pit bulls.
Progressive Conservative Randy Hillier, who owns two dogs he said could be seized and destroyed under the pit bull ban, said Ontario should follow other jurisdictions and scrap the law.
Hillier said pit bulls aren’t really an identifiable breed, so the Dog Owner’s Liability Act only provides a physical description of dogs that he said could be applied to any number of them.
He said the breed-specific ban was introduced because of emotional reaction to some dog attacks, and what he calls media hysteria.
New Democrat Cheri DiNovo said everyone knows it’s the deed, not the breed, that’s the problem, and Liberal backbencher Kim Craitor also called for the pit bull ban to be lifted.
However, other Liberals pointed out the ban was introduced after a spate of horrific dog attacks that left children and adults mutilated.
Private members’ bills rarely become law in Ontario, so there’s no guarantee the pit bull ban will end despite the passing of Hillier’s bill.
About 100 put bull owners, some with their dogs, protested outside the legislature earlier Thursday.
