Quebec Court of Appeal to rule on suspension of Montreal pit bull ban
SPCA had won temporary suspension of breed-specific aspects of Montreal's animal control bylaw in October
The SPCA and the City of Montreal are now waiting for a decision by the Quebec Court of Appeal on whether the temporary suspension of the city's pit bull ban will be upheld.
Soon after the bylaw was passed, the SPCA successfully fought for a temporary suspension of the clauses dealing with pit bull-type dogs in Quebec Superior Court.
In Justice Louis Gouin's decision, he found the provisions dealing with pit bull-type dogs raised numerous red flags and merited further review.
A few days later, the city announced it would appeal the suspension, with Mayor Denis Coderre saying the city won't give in to "threats or interest groups."
Suspension too long, city argues
Three justices, François Pelletier, Manon Savard and Jean-François Émond, heard the city's arguments that, according to Civil Code procedure, Gouin erred in granting a suspension that was longer than 10 days.
City lawyer Claude Marseille argued that because the temporary suspension was granted so quickly, city lawyers did not have time to fully mount their defence.
"If you asked me to score on Carey Price, and you tied his arms behind his back and took off his pads, I could score a goal or two," said Marseille.
The SPCA's lawyers, Sibel Ataogul and Marie-Claude St-Armand, argued the city's lawyers did have sufficient time to make their case and are now trying to make arguments they failed to raise before the trial judge.
"We felt that they were basically trying to redo a hearing that they've already lost," said Ataogul.
Until the appeal court issues its ruling, the temporary suspension of sections of the bylaw that target pit bull-type dogs will remain in place.
No date has yet been set for another court ruling on the merits of those sections.
'Pit bull' owner in Lavaltrie loses appeal
In a related development, Superior Court decision released Thursday rejected the appeal of a dog owner who was challenging an infraction she received under the pit bull ban that went into effect last year in the City of Lavaltrie, about 60 kilometres northeast of Montreal.
The dog owner had argued the bylaw's definition of a pit bull was too vague.
But Justice Guy Cournoyer said the Lavaltrie definition banning "bull terrier breeds" such as the "Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier (Pit Bull)," as well as dogs mixed with those breeds and dogs that look "substantially similar" to those breeds, was clear enough.
Cournoyer based his decision on the precedent set by Cochrane vs. Ontario, the Ontario Appeal Court ruling that upheld that province's pit bull ban.
The City of Montreal's lawyers argue that the Cochrane decision also justifies Montreal's pit bull ban.
However, the SPCA says Montreal's definition of a pit bull is slightly broader than Lavaltrie's.
"[And] the validity of the bylaw itself wasn't challenged in the Lavaltrie case, just the ticket was being contested," said Sophie Gaillard, SPCA lawyer in an email response to CBC.
"Many of the arguments we invoked to challenge the Montreal bylaw weren't raised at all in the Lavaltrie case, which means that there is no settled precedent on these issues."
Dog-tag fines increase sharply
While all pit bull-specific provisions of Montreal's animal control bylaw remain suspended, other sections, including the requirement for all dog owners to buy licences for their pets or face a fine, remain in force.
By Nov. 20, Montreal had seen a steep increase in the number of active dog licences.
The city has now has issued 39,440 dog licences and 9,147 cat licences.
Between Oct. 3 and Nov. 20, the city also issued 294 tickets to dog owners.
According to the city, 81 per cent were for not having a licence, 18 per cent were for a dog not being on a leash, and one per cent were for other infractions.
According to the city, on average the fines were about $337 plus administrative fees, but fines can go up to $2,000.
with files from Radio-Canada's Bahador Zabihiyan, CBC's Ainslie MacLellan