Dog Act update studied by N.W.T. MLAs

Northwest Territories MLAs are considering changes to the decades-old Dog Act, including one controversial proposal to protect people who use dogs in "traditional" ways.

Enacted in 1988 but based on laws dating back to the 1950s, the N.W.T.'s Dog Act differs from animal protection laws in southern Canada because much of it focuses on dealing with sled dogs, traditionally used as a mode of transportation in the North.

Politicians are looking at proposed changes to the act, such as heftier fines and longer jail terms for people who neglect or abuse their dogs. The current act carries a $25 fine or 30-day jail term for offences such as not feeding a dog.

The N.W.T.'s standing committee on economic development and infrastructure began holding public hearings on the proposed changes Thursday in Yellowknife.

MLAs on the committee said they are particularly concerned with one proposed clause that would exempt dog owners from penalty if they are using their dogs in a "traditional" manner.

Clause needs clarification

While the proposed new Dog Act says, "No person shall cause a dog to be in distress," it then goes on to provide an exemption "if the distress results from an activity carried on in accordance with the regulations or in accordance with generally accepted local or traditional practices of dog care, use and management."

Committee members agreed Thursday that the exemption clause needs to be more specific about what "traditional practices" mean, and whether they still apply in N.W.T communities.

"We've got to pay close attention to that clause, and at the end of the day we'll hear from folks, the committee will take what we hear very seriously and report back to the house on what we've heard," Yellowknife Kam Lake MLA David Ramsay, who chairs the standing committee, told CBC News before the hearings began.

"It's by no means a definite that that clause is going to be included in there."

Mackenzie Delta MLA David Krutko said he wants to make sure the revised Dog Act keeps the traditional use of dogs in mind.

"Where I grew up, everybody grew up with dog teams. Everybody grew up with dogs in their homes," Krutko said Thursday.

Debate over traditional use

"I think that it's understanding … the traditional lifestyle of how people live in communities, where you have dogs that are still used for traditional purposes in regards to hunting, fishing, trapping," he added.

But Yellowknife veterinarian Tom Pisz, who has seen abused and neglected dogs brought in from across the territory, said northern communities do not use dogs traditionally anymore.

"They have Ski-Doos, they got snow machines, they got [all-terrain vehicles] to do hunting and trapping," Pisz said.

Meanwhile, Hay River resident Bonnie Dawson has started an online petition calling on the government to get rid of the proposed exemption.

"I'm trying to use the internet to get the message out there: 'Get to this meeting, oppose this deadly loophole,' " Dawson said.

She said she is concerned that leaving one's dog chained outdoors without adequate food and shelter could be construed as a "traditional practice."

The N.W.T. government hopes to officially amend the Dog Act this spring.