ATHABASCA – Athabasca County residents are going to have a limit on how many dogs they can own on their rural properties thanks to a new bylaw the municipality spent the last 18 months developing.
In a 6-3 vote — Reeve Tracy Holland and councillors Natasha Kapitaniuk and Gary Cromwell were opposed — councillors passed the bylaw during their June 26 regular council meeting following a public hearing that saw four members of the public speak against the legislation.
“The purpose of this is to deal with people that are unreasonable,” said Coun. Joe Gerlach.
“It has to have the teeth in it that are unreasonable. There isn’t going to be anybody going out and stopping at every place to count each dog. If a problem does arise, it arises and can be dealt with. We have to have a policy that has enough strength to it that we can deal.”
All four speakers at the public hearing questioned a section of the bylaw that limits the amount of animals a property can have based on its size: at the upper limit, acreages would be restricted to five dogs, a number all felt was too low.
“We have working dogs and guardian dogs on our farm; at one time we had 10. They aren’t pets, they’re working dogs, and a working dog has a short lifespan,” said Duncan Turner, an Athabasca County farmer located near Flat Lake.
Turner said it wasn’t uncommon for him and his wife to have as many as 10 dogs on their property as they trained younger dogs and retired older pups after they weren’t able to do the job anymore.
“A working dog is looking after livestock. We have coyotes there, we have wolves, we have cougars. A working dog is out there with the animals guarding them, going out there after predators,” he said.
“They’re not there on your doorstep. They’re not a lap-dog.”
The bylaw doesn’t include a provision for working dogs — administrative staff said they had been unable to create a sound legal definition for the bylaw — but an over-limit permit would be created to address similar situations.
Filling a need
Two other speakers, Richard Nolan and Harlee Nazaruk, said they were both in the constant process of taking in stray dogs, training them, and helping them find a new home, since shelters like the Second Chance Animal Rescue Society (SCARS) are consistently at capacity.
“I got into it because the county, town, and most of the rescues around here don’t intake dogs at the moment. There’s such a need because everything is over capacity, so I take in strays on my own time, on my own dollar,” said Nazaruk.
“This could directly impact how I give back to the community, by helping rescues take animals off the street.”
Like Turner, Nazaruk said it wasn’t uncommon for her to have more than the legislation's proposed canine limit at any given point in time, and she said she was concerned about the possibility of bylaw enforcement.
“With SCARS being so full, with the lack of resources already out there, what would happen to these animals if people like us aren’t able to step up?”
Nolan has been a long-time advocate for SCARS, raising money through musical events, a charity hockey tournament, and for the first time, a charity golf event taking place later this summer. He said the bylaw would be the equivalent of a death sentence for many dogs, with the lack of rescue space leaving euthanasia as the only option.
While councillors didn’t change the limit, they did speak to the concern in a post-public hearing discussion. Coun. Ashtin Anderson said she was confident that administration was not going to change its approach to enforcement, and was instead looking to be able to handle cases of problem animals they had noted in January 2024.
“Administration had noted issues, concerns, and reoccurring situations of dogs attacking people on walking trails, or attacking kids getting off a school bus. They didn’t feel the current bylaw had enough teeth to be able to enforce those situations,” said Anderson.
“I don’t recall in any time between then and now them saying they wanted to start more proactive enforcement. They’ve reiterated on multiple occasions that they want to remain complaint-based, but when a complaint is issued they needed a bylaw where they could enforce on those issues.”
A variety of concerns
Each of the three councillors who voted against third reading of the bylaw had their own concerns.
Holland, who voted in favour of second reading earlier in the meeting, wanted council to take more time to address concerns from the public.
Kapitaniuk was also in favour of more public consultation, although she also voted against second reading. In a pre-prepared statement, she said the county had to re-think how it was doing public engagement, noting that a 9:30 a.m. public hearing during a work day may not be the best system.
“I do know the community is not feeling heard and respected, and that’s on us as a council. I acknowledge that the residents of this county need a bylaw that protects them, their dogs, and their family and livestock. I don’t believe that this is the law to do it,” she said.
“In its current form, it's creating fear and resentment in our community members that are not only responsible owners, but diligent in supporting the needs of supporting animals that would otherwise be at large or at risk of hurting others or themselves.”
Cromwell’s concerns were about legislative overreach, and the possibility for neighbours to turn the legislation against one another. In an amendment that was defeated in an 8-1 vote, Cromwell wanted to see a five-day notification period before a county peace officer could enter a property to conduct a compliance check.
“For the purpose of inspecting for compliance, that sounds to me like the federal government going, ‘Hey, I would like to have any police officer be able to go through your phone just to make sure you’re not being naughty,’” said Cromwell.
“I find it incredibly dangerous and I find the wording in the bylaw to be incredibly inappropriate.”
Under the Municipal Government Act, county enforcement officers are able to enter non-dwelling buildings on private property for enforcement purposes, provided reasonable notification has been established.
