WHEREAS Section 4910 of the Community Charter provides the authority, if there is reasonable grounds to believe that a dog is a dangerous dog, for a local government to apply to the Provincial Court for an order for that dog be destroyed; AND WHEREAS prior to 2009 the Ministry of Attorney General Crown Counsel office prosecuted bylaw matters or dangerous dog offenses under the Community Charter; AND WHEREAS since that time future prosecutions of this nature are no longer handled by Crown Counsel resulting in increased costs to the local government, delay in court trials often over a year, and therefore longer confinement of dangerous dogs at local government expense; AND WHEREAS it is believed there is a shortage of Crown Counsel and provincial court judges which contribute to this delay: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the provincial government provide more resources to expedite prosecution of local government bylaws, particularly those dealing with dangerous dogs, or consider a different judicial method to prosecute such cases.
Ministry of Justice The Provincial Government ceased providing bylaw prosecution services to municipalities on April 1, 1997. Since then, municipalities have been prosecuting their own bylaws. Criminal Justice Branch policy MUN 1 authorizes municipal lawyers to conduct bylaw offence prosecutions. However, the Criminal Justice Branch continues to play a supervisory role, which includes the authority to intervene or assist in the public interest. Municipal lawyers may have a more immediate appreciation of the development and enforcement of local bylaws regulating matters such as business operations, property development, parking and animal control. Municipal bylaw prosecutions occur within the criminal justice system along with other types of prosecutions, including those under the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, as well as provincial statutes. In the past two years, the Government has appointed 23 judges to locations across the Province. The most recent Justice Delayed Report of the Provincial Court indicates there has been a reduction in delays for trials. Any appointments of new judges will be made within the context of the Provinces overall strategy for justice reform. In 2004 the Province implemented the Bylaw Dispute Adjudication System, which allows local governments to hear bylaw disputes without taking them to court. Local governments using this system have found a reduction in: the number of disputed tickets, costs associated with bylaw officer court attendance and the time from ticket issuance to ticket disposition; as well as an improvement in fine payments. Over 50 local governments are currently using or in the process of developing a bylaw dispute adjudication system.