(QUEEN’S PARK) - MPP Randy Hillier (Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington) applauded Members of the Ontario Legislature for their support today in passing his private members bill, Bill 16, an act that will repeal Dalton McGuinty’s much despised ban on ‘pit bulls,’ at Second Reading. The vote successfully passed despite significant opposition from the minority Liberal government who refused to acknowledge a world-wide repudiation of breed specific legislation.
“Today my fellow colleagues joined me in supporting legislation that will end breed specific legislation in Ontario,” said Hillier. “For the past seven years it has been illegal to own a dog simply by the way it looked, not based on its actions.”
Ontario is now one step closer to repealing this egregious law; just this week the state of Ohio became the fiftieth and final state in America to overturn breed specific legislation. While BSL was a common perceived solution to the media hysteria surrounding dog attacks around the world, jurisdiction after jurisdiction have repealed this legislation because studies showed it was an ineffective solution.
“We have seen countless studies throughout the world, such as a study by the University of British Columbia that have shown that a pit bull is no more likely to be aggressive than a Chihuahua or a Poodle,” said Hillier. “It is time Ontario takes the right step forward and places the responsibility back on the dog owner, not a friendly family pet.”
The vote today at Second Reading passed on recorded division 51-26. The bill will now be sent to the Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills.
“I would like to thank my colleagues Liberal MPP Kim Craitor [Niagara Falls] and NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo [Parkdale-HighPark] for co-sponsoring this legislation,” concluded Hillier. “Today is an important first step in the right direction to repeal a wrath of unjust and burdensome laws that have been passed in the past eight
“Today my fellow colleagues joined me in supporting legislation that will end breed specific legislation in Ontario,” said Hillier. “For the past seven years it has been illegal to own a dog simply by the way it looked, not based on its actions.”
Ontario is now one step closer to repealing this egregious law; just this week the state of Ohio became the fiftieth and final state in America to overturn breed specific legislation. While BSL was a common perceived solution to the media hysteria surrounding dog attacks around the world, jurisdiction after jurisdiction have repealed this legislation because studies showed it was an ineffective solution.
“We have seen countless studies throughout the world, such as a study by the University of British Columbia that have shown that a pit bull is no more likely to be aggressive than a Chihuahua or a Poodle,” said Hillier. “It is time Ontario takes the right step forward and places the responsibility back on the dog owner, not a friendly family pet.”
The vote today at Second Reading passed on recorded division 51-26. The bill will now be sent to the Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills.
“I would like to thank my colleagues Liberal MPP Kim Craitor [Niagara Falls] and NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo [Parkdale-HighPark] for co-sponsoring this legislation,” concluded Hillier. “Today is an important first step in the right direction to repeal a wrath of unjust and burdensome laws that have been passed in the past eight years by the McGuinty Liberal Government.”