A Sad Day!

Supreme Court will not hear appeal of Ontario's pit bull ban
By THE CANADIAN PRESS – 5 hours ago
OTTAWA —

The Supreme Court of Canada said Thursday it will not hear a bid to quash Ontario's ban on pit bulls.

The attempt to take the fight to Canada's highest court was launched in April by a
Toronto dog owner represented by lawyer Clayton Ruby. "That's the end of the
legal attack, but it remains a bad law, a terrible law," Ruby said in an
interview.

In his submission to the Supreme Court, Ruby argued there is no
scientific or statistical basis to conclude that pit bulls are more dangerous
than other dogs. He asked the Supreme Court to review a decision from
Ontario's Appeal Court last October that upholds the province's ban.

The high court decided Thursday that it would not hear the appeal.
The Ontario Appeal Court concluded that pit bulls are dangerous and unpredictable dogs that have the potential to attack without warning.The Ontario government enacted the Dog Owners' Liability Act in 2005 to ban the breeding, sale and ownership of pit bulls after several incidents in which the dogs attacked people.

When the law was enacted, pit bulls that were already pets in the province were grandfathered and allowed to stay with owners, but with strict rules.
As a result, many owners have opted to give up their dogs and the animals are ultimately euthanized, Ruby said."The dogs are winding up in the shelters, the shelters can't keep the dogs forever and they kill them," he said.
The challenge was launched on behalf of Ruby's client, Catherine Cochrane.

The Supreme Court also ordered the woman to pay the costs associated with her application to take the case to the high court.
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