The city’s bylaw for guide dogs and other service animals aboard public transit doesn’t need any improvement to comply with federal or provincial regulations, a staff report stated.
The transit committee received a report from city solicitor Rick O’Connor, which noted that provincial laws do not apply to OC Transpo because it operates in both Ontario and Quebec, and so is regulated federally.
Catherine Gardner, chair of the city’s accessibility advisory committee, said that while she supported the report’s conclusions, she still saw room for improvement.
Gardner, who travels with a guide dog herself, worried that the current rules, under which a doctor’s note can be enough to let service animals onboard, might be too lax.
“It does scare me that other dogs may be going on the buses that do not have training, that do not have a licence and that may not have up-to-date vaccinations,” she said.
