A private member’s bill seeks to overturn an Ontario ban against pit bulls. (Toronto Sun files)
By Antonella Artusa, Queen’s Park Bureau Chief
TORONTO - The majority of Ontario MPPs support a private member’s bill overturning the pit bull ban, NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo says.
The bill, put forward by Tory MPP Rick Hillier and co-sponsored by DiNovo and Liberal MPP Kim Craitor, has the support of other Grit MPPs too, she said.
“We know we don’t need any Liberals to support this but the fact that we have them is wonderful,” DiNovo said Thursday. “We have the votes to get it through second reading, no doubt.”
Hillier said the ban, brought in by the Dalton McGuinty government, is loosely enforced across the province and removes the onus from the pet owner to raise a non-violent dog.
“I don’t accept that violence is pre-determined. If we had a law like this for humans, we’d call it racism. Why is that acceptable here?” Hillier says in a news release.
Attorney General John Gerretsen said the ban was brought in to protect the people of Ontario.
“So what will happen with this private member’s bill, time will tell,” Gerretsen said.
The controversial ban, which took effect in 2005, brought in after some high profile attacks on humans, had the support of the majority of Ontarians, according to one poll done shortly after it was implemented in 2005.
Pit bulls are defined in the law as a pit bull terrier, a Staffordshire bull terrier, an American Staffordshire terrier, an American pit bull terrier or a dog that substantially looks like one of these dogs.
