Congratulation to Kelly et al !

I've just finished watching Global National and our esteemed Mayor and Council have made us
a laughing stock on national television with our expensive and unenforceable cat by-law. Haven't seen Kevin Newman smirk so much since the Commonwealth Games fiasco.

Maybe we should consider putting a few million into crime prevention, infrastructure, cleaning up a filthy downtown (ever seen Quebec City ? maybe we can get some pointers) or putting more bucks into shelter and rehab programs to solve having panhandlers and beggars
on every corner of the downtown core instead of building the Kitty Hilton.

Just a thought !

Ian

Post edited by: ianbedford, at: 2007/10/24 19:31

HRM council is on a role when it comes to embarrassing national news, first a string of violent crimes, then the cat by law then celine dion. Let's go for 4 national news items metro !

Election time is next year, it's time to voice your concerns and hold them accountable.

Many residents have opposed the cat by-law, there's a Facebook.com Group 'Against HRM Cat By Law (A-300)' with over 1100 members ! Councillors supporting the Cat by law like Kirsta Snow, Bill Karsten, Harry McInroy, Mary Wile and Andrew Younger will no doubt find it hard to follow through and finance this fiaso with our hard earned property tax dollars with such a massive opposition.

Facebook.com Group 'Halifax Regional Council'

I certainly do not support Peter Kelly, nor this council, in the least. However, as a responsible cat owner I fully support the cat bylaw.

I don't believe the bylaw itself would garner that much laughter from the outside world. What does create the laughter is the uproar an issue like this causes and the childish battles that ensue and rage on indefinitely. A lazy resistance to change and new ideas constantly plagues issues like this from the decision process through to the management of any given solution.

Take care of your cats people.

*** Letter sent to the Herald:

First of all, if you are a cat owner who is all up in
arms about the new bylaw, then you probably shouldn't
own a cat. I am a cat owner and I'm fed up with of all
the invalid arguements that simply mask the underlying
attitude that it cannot be accomplished, so why
bother? Stop being so slack and irresponsible. Care
for your cats like the pets they are intended to be.
License your cats -- do it for your cats, for your
neighbours, and community. Dogs are required to be
licensed and tagged, and are not supposed to run free.
These rules should also apply to cats -- cats, when
allowed to run free, can be equally destructive to
property, spread disease, and if they are not
neutered, breed unwanted offspring. Not to mention the
fact that often cats that are allowed to run free end
up dead.

Further, I am tired of these never-ending battles
against change. Now, Dawn Sloane is vowing to fight
this bylaw. Ms. Sloane claims this bylaw will waste
money -- how could it possibly worsen the city's
increasingly dismal performance in the areas of
policing and construction? Traffic snarls, youth
violence, drugs, unemployment, and ill-conceived urban
sprawl -- and some of our city counsellors put their
energy behind efforts like fighting this cat bylaw.
This is a no-brainer. Proper implementation,
management, and basic responsibility accepted by cat
owners will result in positive change for both
residents and pets.

Post edited by: fmarsland, at: 2007/12/10 10:37

Post edited by: fmarsland, at: 2007/12/10 10:38

The cat bylaw is a perfect example of why this entire council needs to go. It is not HRMs business whether or not I allow my neutered, vaccinated, microchipped cat to wander outside occasionally. But with this bylaw that cat can be captured and killed by HRM within 3 days. That is unconscionable and utterly ridiculous. The first thing a new council should do is repeal this absurd bylaw.

After passing the by law before learning the cost or how to implement it Halifax Regional Council has found out its way to expensive (millions of dollars) and couldn't even be implemented successfully with the big pricetag.

Council will be reviewing the by-law this March 18th, 2008. Contact your councillor and let them know what you think of their actions and priorities on this subject, this is an important week for this by-law ! Councillor contact info can be found here: http://www.halifax.ca/districts/

Even with the outragous pricetag, public opposition and SPCA dissapproval, their are 6-7 councillors still trying to push it through. It's not to late to stop David Hendsbee, Jim Smith, Krista Snow, Mary Wile, Linda Mosher, Andrew Younger and Harry McInroy , let them know what you think !

Let's make national news for something positive this time.

More info on the by-law can be found here: http://geocities.com/hrmcouncil/index.html