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Bill 147, Public Safety Related to Dogs Statute Law Amendment Act, 2019

Nicholls, Rick

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Acts affected

Original

Bill 147 Original (PDF)

EXPLANATORY

NOTE

The

Bill repeals provisions in the Animals for Research Act

relating to the disposition of pit bulls under that Act.

The

Bill also repeals provisions in the Dog Owners’ Liability

Act that prohibit restricted pit bulls and provide for controls on pit

bulls. The Act is also amended to provide that if a court finds that a dog, in

an unprovoked attack, has inflicted a severe physical injury on a person or has

killed a person, the court shall declare that the dog is a vicious dog, may

order that the dog be destroyed and shall order that the owner be prohibited

from owning another dog for a period of at least 10 years. An attack is not

considered unprovoked if the person attacked was wilfully trespassing or

committing another wilful tort on the premises occupied by the dog's owner, was

committing or attempting to commit a crime or was teasing, tormenting, abusing

or assaulting the dog or if the dog was protecting or defending a person within

the immediate vicinity of the dog from an unjustified attack or assault.

Bill 147 2019

Act to amend the Animals for Research Act and the Dog Owners’ Liability Act

Her

Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the

Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Animals

for Research Act

(1) Subsection 1 (2) of the Animals for

Research Act is repealed.

(2) Subsection

20 (5) of the Act is amended by striking out “subject to subsections (7) to

(7.4)” and substituting “subject to subsection (7)”.

(3) Subsection

20 (6) of the Act is amended by striking out “subject to subsections (7) to

(7.4)” in the portion before clause (

a) and substituting “subject to subsection

(7)”.

(4) Subsections

20 (7.1) to (7.4) of the Act are repealed.

Dog

Owners’ Liability Act

(1) The definition of “pit bull” in subsection 1 (1) of the Dog Owners’ Liability Act is repealed.

(2) Subsection

1 (1) of the Act is amended by adding the following definition:

“severe

physical injury” means a physical injury to a person that results in muscle

tears or disfiguring lacerations or that requires multiple sutures or

corrective or cosmetic surgery. (“préjudice physique grave”)

(3) Subsection

1 (2) of the Act is repealed.

(4) Subsection

4 (6) of the Act is amended by striking out the portion before paragraph 1 and

substituting the following:

Considerations

(6) In

exercising its powers to make an order under subsection (3), the court shall

take into consideration the following circumstances:

. . . .

(5) Subsections

4 (8), (9) and (10) of the Act are repealed.

(6) The

Act is amended by adding the following section:

Order

for destruction of vicious dogs

4.1

(1) If, in a

proceeding under

section 4, the court finds that the dog, in an unprovoked

attack, has inflicted a severe physical injury on a person or has killed a

person, the court shall declare that the dog is a vicious dog and may make an

order under clause 4 (3) (a).

Meaning

of provocation

(2) An

attack by a dog that inflicts a severe physical injury on a person or that

kills a person is not unprovoked if, at the time of the attack,

(

a) the

person was wilfully trespassing or committing another wilful tort on the

premises occupied by the dog’s owner;

(

b) the

person was committing or attempting to commit an offence against the Criminal Code (Canada);

(

c) the

person was teasing, tormenting, abusing or assaulting the dog; or

(

d) the

dog was protecting or defending a person within the immediate vicinity of the

dog from an unjustified attack or assault.

(7) Section

5 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:

Mandatory

order for vicious dogs

(2) If,

in accordance with subsection 4.1 (1), the court has declared that the dog is a

vicious dog, the court shall make an order prohibiting the dog’s owner from

owning another dog until at least the tenth anniversary of the making of the

declaration has occurred or for whatever longer period of time is specified in

the order.

(8) Sections

6 to 11 of the Act are repealed.

(9) Subsection

13 (3) of the Act is amended by adding “or” at the end of clause (

c) and by

striking out clauses (

d) and (e).

(10) Subsection

15 (1) of the Act is amended by adding “or” at the end of clause (

c) and by

striking out clauses (

d) and (e).

(11) Section

18 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:

Same,

vicious dog

(1.1) An

owner of a dog who contravenes an order required to be made under subsection

4.1 (1) is guilty of an offence and, despite anything in this Act, is liable on

conviction to a fine of not more than $60,000 or to imprisonment for a term of

not more than two years, or to both.

(12) Sections

19 and 20 of the Act are repealed and the following substituted:

Regulations

Regulations

19 The Lieutenant Governor in Council may

make regulations,

(

a) authorizing

persons or other bodies specified in the regulations to pass and enforce

by-laws governing dogs for the purposes of unorganized territory or specified

parts of unorganized territory in the same ways that a municipality can pass

and enforce by-laws governing pit bulls for the purposes of its geographic

jurisdiction;

(

b) designating

bodies referred to as designated in this Act;

(

c) designating

public officers as peace officers for the purposes of this Act.

Revocation

Ontario Regulation 157/05 (Pit Bull Controls) made under the Act is revoked.

Commencement

and

Short Title

Commencement

This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.

Short

title

The

short title of this Act is the Public

Safety Related to Dogs Statute Law Amendment Act, 2019 .

Date Bill stage Event Outcome Committee

November 21, 2019

Second Reading

Ordered referred to Standing Committee

Standing Committee on General Government

November 21, 2019

Second Reading

Vote

Carried on division

November 21, 2019

Second Reading

Debated

November 20, 2019

First Reading

Vote

Carried

Debates and Progress

First Reading

November 20, 2019

Committee

Second Reading

November 21, 2019

Mr. Rick Nicholls, Ms. Bhutila Karpoche, Ms. Christine Hogarth, Ms. Rima Berns-McGown, Mr. David Piccini, Mr. Kevin Yarde, Mrs. Belinda C. Karahalios

November 21, 2019

Carried on recorded division. Referred to the Standing Committee on General Government.

Committee

Standing Committee on General Government

Third Reading

Royal Assent

Acts affected - Bill 147

Most Ontario public acts are available electronically; to view copies of the Acts to be amended by this bill visit e-laws

Animals for Research Act

Dog Owners' Liability Act

Legislative Assembly of Ontario

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