Quebec likely to follow Ontario's lead on pit bull ban, Philippe Couillard says

As Quebec City announcedit will banpit bulls starting next year,Premier PhilippeCouillardsaid Thursdaythe provincewill "probably" follow Ontario's lead in outlawing the dogs.

Couillardsaidthe province would take the summer and the beginning of the fall to study the issue and consult with municipalities, many of which have also been considering new rules in the wake of a series of high-profile attacks.

Couillardalso stressed that itwould be pointless to ban pit bulls and then have to interveneagaina few months laterto ban another dog breed, suggesting any province-wide legislationwould target dangerous dogs and not just pit bulls.

Public Security Minister Martin Coiteuxechoed the premier's comments Thursday, sayingthat while pit bulls are "very" dangerous, there are other kinds of dangerous dogs and they also need to be addressed.

Coiteuxsaid the working group convened following the death of Christiane Vadnais in her Pointe-aux-Trembles backyard last weekmet for the first time Thursday morning.

He expects theirrecommendations to be ready by August.

"We will definitely do something significant," he said.

In the last few days, Brossard, Candiacand now Quebec City have announced pit bull bans. Coiteux said their bylaws will simply be added to the list of regulationsthe working group is examiningin order to come up with its recommendations.

He said in the absence of a common vision, he didn't see anything wrong with individual municipalities creating their own rules to deal with the dogs.

"The cities are doing what they believe they have to, and that's fine," he said.

Starting in January, no pit bulls in Quebec City

Quebec CityMayorRgis Labeaume said the decision to introduce the ban, whichwillgo into effect in 2017,was made with the safety of the public in mind, because the dogs are "particularly aggressive."

The list of banned breeds in Quebec Cityincludes:

• Bull terriers.
• Staffordshirebull terriers.
• American pit bull terriers.
• American Staffordshireterriers.
• Any mix withthese breeds.

Starting Jan. 1, any dog on the list of banned breeds will be prohibited. Anyone caught with a banned dog is subject to a fine of up to $1,000 for a first offence.

For its part, the City of Montreal is working to come up with a uniform set of rules regarding "dangerous dogs" across its 19 boroughs but won't say if it's leaning toward an all-out ban on any particular breed. Those rules were slated to come into effect by 2018.

How it works in Ontario

Ontario's pit bull banwas proposed in 2004after a number of cases in which people were badly injured in pit bull attacks.It was passed in 2005.

"The legislation bans pit bulls in Ontario, places restrictions on existing pit bulls, and toughens the penalties for the owners of any dog that poses a danger to the public,"Ontario's Ministry of theAttorney General says on its website.

The legislation, called the Dog Owners'Liability Act, defines a pit bull as a pit bull terrier,Staffordshirebull terrier,American pit bull terrier,AmericanStaffordshireterrieror any dog "that has an appearance and physical characteristics that are substantially similar.

A lawyer working on behalf of a Toronto dog ownerchallenged the law inOntario's Court of Appeal, where it was upheld. He then triedto bring it to the Supreme Court, which refused to hear the case.

The act includes a "grandfather clause,"meaning those who already owned apit bullwere able to keep it.

Pit bulls are also required to bemuzzled and leashed when in public, and must be sterilized.

Peace officers, which includespolice officers,municipal law enforcement officers and inspectors or agents as designated bytheOntario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, are tasked with seizing dogs that contravene the rules.

Go after owners, not dogs, critics say

Dog trainer and pit bull ownerJohn Trusssays his dogs are like family.

He says hestrongly opposed to bans on specific breeds of dogs.Instead, he'd like to see dog owners held accountable for their animals.

• Family of Montreal woman mauled by dog wants Quebec-wide pit bull ban
• What are the options when it comes to regulating dogs?

"I think politicians do this to make everybody feel safe. But do we want tomake everybody feel safe, or do we want to make everybody be safe?" he said.

The Montreal SPCA has said legislators should focus on preventing dogs from becoming dangerous.

It wants to see rules surrounding sterilization, socialization and regulation of who can own dogs.