About the DLCC

NOTE: chicobandido.com is not affiliated with the Dog Legislation Council of Canada. The author of chicobandido.com, Steve Barker, has volunteered with the DLCC since 2003 and is committed to its mandate, but independently manages chicobandido.com.

The Dog Legislation Council of Canada was formed in 2003 with a three-part mandate:

– To promote responsible and accountable dog ownership,
– To assist communities in developing effective legislation that enforces that responsibility, and
– To educate the public regarding dog-bite awareness

The DLCC has helped governments across Canada develop municipal bylaws and provincial legislation using methods that have been proven to dramatically reduce the number of dog bite incidents without focusing on specific breeds or types of dogs.

In 2004, when Ontario first started considering a ban on a certain “look” of dog, the DLCC joined together with four other organizations to form Banned Aid, with the express purpose of dealing with the Ontario legislation. They retained Clayton Ruby, one of the top civil rights lawyers in the country, and, when the legislation passed in August 2005, they became the driving force behind a constitutional challenge to that law.

Four years and a million dollars later, the case reached the Supreme Court of Canada which refused to hear it.

The DLCC was not fighting for a specific breed or type of dog. The DLCC was technically not fighting for any dog. They were fighting for your right to own your choice of dog and, as long as you are responsible in the ownership of that dog, to be left alone by the government. They were fighting for your right NOT to be fined, NOT to be put in jail, and NOT to have your property confiscated based on an arbitrary decision about the size of your dog’s head or neck or chest or ears, none of which have anything to do with whether or not your dog is a danger to society.

The DLCC was fighting and continues to fight for ALL dog owners, regardless of the size or type of dog(s) you own. Many parts of the Ontario law apply to ALL dog owners. Your dog can be seized in public, your house can be entered and your property confiscated (in some cases without a warrant), neighbour conflicts can result in seized dogs, and none of this is breed-specific. Your family pet, regardless of breed, is susceptible to these measures.

The DLCC continues to assist municipalities to develop fair and effective dog legislation using proven methods that are neither discriminatory nor arbitrary.

Please visit http://www.dlcc.ca/ for more details.

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