The Ontario government has no authority to tell a York Region shelter to stop euthanizing its animals, Community Safety Minister Rick Bartolucci says.
“It’s an independent group that’s managed, governed by a board of directors. And if there is a complaint with regard to some action there ... they can appeal that to their board of directors,” the minister said Wednesday.
Conservative MPP Frank Klees said the situation at the Newmarket shelter has exposed glaring gaps in accountability in the animal protection system.
Klees noted the minister gave the Ontario Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals new powers last year to inspect premises, other than homes, where animals are kept for the purposes of exhibit, entertainment, boarding, sale or hire.
It was part of an updated animal protection act that made it easier to prosecute abusers and expose them to more severe fines if convicted.
The minister first announced the bill in 2008 at the same shelter where the animals are now being euthanized to stop a ringworm outbreak.
“We now have to ask the question ‘what oversight is there?’ ” Klees said. “Not only now for this agency but agencies similar to the SPCA. Do we really, as Ontarians, accept the fact that a minister of the crown has no authority and no way of bringing to heel a rogue agency in this province?”
Klees said a phone call from the minister probably could get the OSPCA to halt its euthanasia plans, but the government should consider amending its animal protection legislation to give it more oversight over shelters.
Bartolucci said he did talk with the executive director of the shelter and remains convinced that all other possible solutions have been explored.
The shelter official assured him the decision was reached only after extensive consultation with veterinarians and other animal experts.
Klees said he has yet to locate a vet who supports the plan because ringworm is treatable.
The MPP, whose riding is located next to the shelter site, said he has been getting calls and e-mails from people who are appalled by the decision to put down the animals.