Ontario’s top lawmaker is looking for ideas from the public as Premier Doug Ford’s government considers reforms to legislation that includes the 2005 pit bull ban, with an eye to making “public safety the top priority.”Attorney General Doug Downey said his ministry is reviewing the Dog Owner’s Liability Act, which has prohibited the breeding and importation of pit bulls along with imposing restrictions on the dogs,which must be muzzled, leashed at all times, and sterilized. “We’re looking at all options at the moment and everything we do will obviously put public safety first,” he told reporters on his way into a cabinet meeting Wednesday.“We’re looking at all ideas and we’re open to input from people.”The Ontario Veterinary Medical Association, the Toronto Humane Society, animal welfare activists, vocal pit bull owners, the NDP and Green party have been pushing the province to rescind the ban, arguing it singles out one class of canine and doesn’t address bites and dangerous acts of other dogs in general.“This legislation is giving people a false sense of security,” said assistant professor Lee Niel of the University of Guelph veterinary college, who studies dog behaviour. “Any dog has the potential to bite given the wrong circumstances.”There is the perception, however, among some members of the public that pit bulls can be more vicious than other dogs, highlighted by periodic news reports of bites. The 2005 ban, for example, was sparked by the severe mauling of a Toronto man by two pit bulls subdued with a total of 16 shots by police officers responding to the call. A 2014 investigation by the Star found pit bulls were more likely than any other breed to bite humans and pets in the city in the three years preceding the ban. “It’s about certain types of people having certain types of dogs,” said Niel. “That type of dog rotates. Right no ...
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