RUNCIMAN WEBSITE POLL ON PIT BULL BAN SWAMPED
BROCKVILLE — Support
for the McGuinty Government’s ban on pit
bulls is running at less than three per cent
according to a poll on the Leeds-Grenville Provincial
PC website, revealed MPP Bob Runciman.
“As of this morning, there has been 3,020
responses to my website poll,” said Runciman.
“Of that total, 2,828 are against the
ban as proposed by the Liberal government.”
In addition, Runciman has received more than
140 e-mails to his personal address and almost
all are against the proposed ban. The e-mails
come from all over North American and further,
with one from Canberra, Australia.
While Runciman has not had a chance to read
all of the comments, there is no doubt that
most respondents believe the government must
take action to curb attacks on citizens by dangerous
dogs. Most comments reflect Runciman’s
belief that the McGuinty Government’s
legislation is nothing more than a public relations
exercise.
Hundreds of people have pointed out that breed
specific bans are neither fair nor successful.
Aggressive dogs come in all breeds and are usually
the result of actions or lack of training by
the owners. In Italy, a breed-specific ban was
introduced just over two years ago and now the
ban lists 92 breeds.
Runciman says the legislation shifts responsibility
for enforcement of the ban onto individual municipalities
without any mention of compensation.
“It’s important to understand that
lack of support for this ban is not an indication
that people are taking dog attacks lightly,”
said Runciman. “Personally, I am extremely
upset that there are many people including small
children who have been killed or maimed by dog
attacks.
“We have to find a solution but this
proposed ban is window dressing, not a serious
measure to prevent these attacks,” continued
Runciman.
Runciman has discovered through e-mails he
has received that several jurisdictions have
enacted legislation to deal with dangerous dogs.
Many of these bills have proven themselves as
effective tools in dealing with this problem.
“The legislation here is another example
of an ill-thought out, non-consultative, knee-jerk
public relations sham to distract citizens from
the Liberals lack of an agenda in dealing with
real problems,” said Runciman.
The veteran MPP believes the Liberals should
delay the current legislation and put their
resources towards reviewing existing legislation
that has proven successful elsewhere, take the
time to consult with dog owners and breeders,
and to discuss proposed legislation with the
municipalities that will be charged with the
responsibility of enforcement.
“Dog attacks are a very serious problem
in Ontario but measures we take must be fair,
practical and effective,” said Runciman.
Runciman said the website poll at www.lgprovpc.ca
will be discontinued later this week and final
results reported.
Media Contact:
Don Swayne
Executive Assistant
(613) 342-9522
