COURT INFORMATION FOR THURSDAY JUNE 28 AT 10:00 AM – PLEASE ATTEND

393 University Avenue in downtown Toronto.
Courtroom 904 – June 28 10:00 AM

Between Queen and Dundas on University Avenue.

If you’re taking the TTC, it’s on the University/Spadina subway line between Osgoode (Queen) and St. Patrick (Dundas) stations.

We want as many people as possible to be there, please. Get there early to ensure that you get in. I’m aiming for 8:00 AM, which may be overkill, but I’d rather be too early than too late.

As I understand it, the arguments will be about how to implement the judge’s decision on the challenge of DOLA. The judge must decide the best course of action now that the law has been substantially eroded.

The decision of the judge, as far as I understand it, is that the following parts of the law are unconstitutional:

  1. The phrase “pit bull includes”;
  2. The phrase “pit bull terrier” as a definition of a restricted dog;
  3. The use of only a document from a veterinarian as proof of breed, thus placing onto the defendant the burden of the costs of cross-examination and calling of experts to refute the document.

The full text of the judge’s decision is here.

Here is a plain English interpretation of what could happen, courtesy of the Fundamental Freedoms Project:

The Charter is a part of Canada’s Constitution, and is included in the Constitution Act, 1982. Section 52(1) of the Constitution Act, 1982 gives courts the power to say that a law that violates the Charter is not valid. You can ask a court to make such a declaration. When applying section 52, a court might:

  • strike out the part of the law that violates the Charter
  • interpret a law narrowly so that it fits Charter rights
  • ‘read in’ features to the law so that it meets Charter requirements
  • declare that you are not covered by the law that violates your Charter rights (a ‘constitutional exemption’)

Be there. Let the Ontario Liberals know that you will not accept the erosion of Canadian charter rights, the legislated second-class citizenship of law-abiding people, and the extermination of unoffending dogs.

Please read Caveat’s post regarding court protocol, written for the original court case in May 2006, but still applicable.

Courtesy of Marsha Boulton, author of Wally’s World available at Amazon Canada.

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