Calèche drivers fight to get back on streets as ban goes into effect

Calèche drivers are turning to the courts — and taking to the streets — in an effort to overturn a one-year ban ordered by Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre.

Luc Desparois, the owner of Lucky Luc Stable in Griffintown, said he filed an injunction against the city today.

"We're saying that we really don't agree with the mayor and we find that he really doesn't have proper reasons to make us go bankrupt like this," Desparois told CBC' Radio's Homerun host Sue Smith.

"We're at the beginning of the season. We've put all our money into our horses, into our business, to be perfect for this year so nobody has [anything] to say … and we've invested a lot. And when it's time to make money, he closes us down." 

Coderre announced the moratorium last week, catching many in the industry by surprise. He said he wants the horses to return in a year, but with tighter rules and more professional standards.

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Before the court injunction was filed Tuesday, Desparois and other calèche drivers made their way from Lucky Luc Stable in Griffintown and to Montreal City Hall, where they held a protest against the moratorium.

In spite of the protest, Coderre said the calèche industry needs tighter rules.

"Everybody witnessed some negligence in that industry, so we need to reinvent that industry, and I want to go further than that by putting out together a horses' policy … We have to think about the optimal conditions," he said.

Animal rights activists have been calling for a ban for years, arguing it's cruel to make horses work long hours in difficult conditions, including intense heat and traffic.

Desparois argued calèche drivers and owners have done everything possible to make the industry safer.

"My stable is open 24 hours a day. We always have people there with the horses. Come and see how nice our horses are. A horse that is not happy, you can't work with a horse like that in the city."

Now that the injunction has been filed, Desparois is expected to be in court Wednesday morning.