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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 Get information on Huron County attractions on the Stops Along The Way section of our website www.northhuron.on.ca