HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-06-13, Page 9THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2013. PAGE 9.
Residents concerned about the
Municipality of Morris-Turnberry’s
pending animal control bylaw will
have to wait as few as three months
to find out what the new bylaw will
look like.
Council has been debating the
issue for several months now and
welcomed deputations and added an
open forum section to their June 4
council meeting in hopes of finding
some kind of middle ground with
concerned citizens.
At the end of the discussion,
council decided to host a public
meeting in September to be sure that
all questions and concerns were
addressed. The later date will give
council and residents time to prepare
for the meeting.
In addition to the three scheduled
deputations there would also be an
open session for concerns and
questions from the floor.
The bylaw has raised eyebrows
both in the community and at the
council table for the lengthy list of
animals prohibited or labelled exotic
within it as well as for some of the
entries on the list.
The first deputation, Myron
Shwadchuck, spoke for nearly a half
an hour on the issue, as well as
several other issues that arose during
the last meeting he attended
including public consultation and
“clock-watchers”.
Shwadchuck felt the municipality
was using arbitrary rules and the
bylaw had been “copied and pasted”
together in a manner that didn’t fit.
He also spoke on how the bylaw
would affect people who foster for
the Humane Society or similar
groups. Limiting these people to two
dogs could result in a lack of
housing for animals, and
subsequently lead to animals being
put down
He also stated he couldn’t
understand why one area of the
municipality labelled as settled
would only be allowed to have two
dogs per property with a house on it
while others considered rural could
have three or more if they are being
used for farming purposes. He also
questioned the basic numbers of
those rules.
“I don’t understand why Morris-
Turnberry has a two-dog limit in
Bluevale,” he said. “I understand,
years ago, when dogs were running
loose and killing cattle, but at this
point, why do Listowel, Huron-
Kinloss and Bluewater allow three
dogs when we only allow two?” he
asked. “Why does Bluewater have a
five page bylaw and it takes us 21?
You have to trust my 30 years of
experience looking at documents
students patched together and
believe me when I say this is much
larger than it needed to be.”
Shwadchuck asked if it wouldn’t
be more sensible to measure the
number of dogs by the acreage,
versus the designation of the land, or
even use the weight of the dog
versus the land.He ended his presentation by
stating that he had come from a
country where people were pulled
out of their homes and shot for
disobedience by an officer put in
power by someone who was elected.
He likened the document to that kind
of totalitarian government and
promised that, if any council
member approved the bylaw, he
would run against them or inform
voters of their actions so they
wouldn’t get re-elected.
Vicki Carter of Bluevale was the
second deputation. Her concerns
were with the wording of the
document including sale of
impounded animals, why herding
animals were limited to sheep, the
lack of a clearly defined grooming
service bylaw and the confusion
around dog excrement.
“The way this reads, a dog
wouldn’t be allowed to do its
business on its owner’s property, you
could be fined for that, it doesn’t say
anything about the property being
someone else’s,” she said.
The final deputation, Jennifer
Wick, brought in a pet hedgehog
named Sonic.
“This animal is as common as a
chinchilla, not very big and, contrary
to pop culture, can’t destroy things
by rolling into a ball and running
into them,” she explained. “I don’t
understand why they are prohibited,
they are harmless if they are handled
correctly.”
Aside from the designation of a
hedgehog as prohibited and exotic,
Wick was also concerned with how
people who foster animals would be
treated.
While council did have some
answers available for the
deputations, the vast majority of
them were told they would be
answered in a public forum in thenear future. This would likely take
the form of some kind of online
document.
During the question and answer
period, several questions were put to
council that they answered to the
best of their ability on issues such as
promptness of response to questions
and how the bylaw would handle
puppy mills.
Sherry McLaughlin took the
opportunity to ask questions about
the existing animal control bylaw
and why it prohibited her from
having dogs on her property. The
issue was originally dealt with more
than a year ago by council.
She owns a property where they
have a workshop and they have
previously been denied a dog licence
due to the fact that there would be no
one around to care for the animals.
McLaughlin claims that the dogs
would be cared for during the day
and locked in at night and that they
were there for protection purposes
but they were not guard dogs and
instead referred to them as deterrent
dogs.
Councillor Neil Warwick,
however, said that he had “seen her
dogs” and “knew exactly what they
were.”
The woman complained that the
decision was unfair and that it
should be changed, however council
didn’t act on her issue.
The pending meeting will be
announced once a date and location
is confirmed.
The Huron-Bruce Federal Liberal
Association held its Annual General
Meeting in the Legion Hall in
Lucknow last month. The event was
well attended by the local
membership.
Virginia Schenk, a lawyer from
Wingham, was elected president of
the Association and a strong
executive was elected to support her,
including: Loren Calder, past-
president; former MPP Murray
Elston, first vice-president; Cory
Campbell, second vice-president;
Peter Morris, treasurer; Kevin
Wilbee, membership secretary;
Kelly Reid, general secretary; Dr.
Maarten Bokhout, vice-president of
policy; Gloria Wilbee, fundraising
chair and directors former MP Paul
Steckle, former MPP Jack Riddell,
Gregory McClinchey, Nick Whyte,
Stan Eby, Brian Fullerton, Bob
Down, Ross Lamont, David King,
Deborah Seili, Mac Inglis and
Marjorie Rapson, plus three new
young directors, Erica Murray,
Christopher Oberle and Michael
Oberle.
The guest speaker for the event
was the Liberal Member of
Parliament for Markham-Unionville,
John McCallum, who spoke very
positively about the party’s new
leader Justin Trudeau and its future
prospects as the party begins to
develop policies and a platform for
the election in 2015.
For all interested in learning about
upcoming events in the riding,
please consult the party’s website at:
https://huron-bruce.liberal.ca/
M-T residents protest animal control bylaw
Liberals elect new
executive at meeting
Harmless or a wrecking ball?
Despite pop culture representation, hedgehogs are neither dangerous nor speedy according
to Jennifer Wick, who is shown here with Sonic the Hedgehog wrapped up in towels. Wick, who
was puzzled as to why hedgehogs are on the prohibited list of pets in Morris-Turnberry’s new
animal control bylaw, was one of three deputations scheduled to talk about the bylaw during
Morris-Turnberry Council’s June 4 meeting. (Denny Scott photo)
Supporting People.
Strengthening Partnerships.
Improving Performance.
www.hpha.ca
Notice of Annual Meetings
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the
Annual General Meetings of the Members
of Clinton Public Hospital, St. Marys Memorial
Hospital, Seaforth Community Hospital and
Stratford General Hospital will be held at the
Mitchell Golf & Country Club in Mitchell,
Ontario, on:
Thursday June 20, 2013
at 7:00 p.m. to:
Clinton Public Hospital
St. Marys Memorial Hospital
Seaforth Community Hospital
Stratford General Hospital
1. Receive Annual Reports of the Board of
Directors, including Financial Statements,
The Financial Statements will be available
after June 14, 2013 on the Huron Perth
Healthcare Alliance website www.hpha.ca.
2. Appoint Auditors.
3. -
Laws. The amended by-laws will be posted
on the HPHA website.
4. Receive the Ad Hoc Nominating
Committee Report.
Only members of the Corporation
shall be entitled to vote at the
Annual General Meeting.
Members of the public are welcome to attend.
Custom Framing
519-523-4299
414 Queen St.,
Blyth, Ont.
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
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