City of Toronto to focus on city-wide enforcement of dog leash bylaws

The City of Toronto announced last week that bylaw officers will focus on city-wide enforcement of dog leash bylaws, following last year’s public education and enforcement blitz in July.

In Toronto, all dogs must be kept on a leash whenever they are on any property other than their owner’s, unless they are in one of the city’s 57 designated leash-free parks, the City of Toronto said in a media release. “Owners are responsible for ensuring that their dogs do not run at large,” the release said, noting that “a dog is considered running at large if it is unleashed, off its owner’s property and not under its owner’s control.”

In 2014, there were a total of 829 investigations regarding dogs running off-leash and 161 charges laid. This year, there have been 924 investigations and 39 charges laid. A fine of $360 can be issued for allowing a dog to run at large, the city reports.

John Bordignon, a spokesperson for State Farm Canada, told Canadian Underwriter that the insurer had 27 dog bite claims in 2014 for payments of $1,033,000 in Ontario alone. There were also three claims for Alberta (for payments totalling $23,900) and no claims for New Brunswick, the other two provinces in which State Farm Canada operates.

In May 2014, State Farm said that about 5 million people in Canada and the United States are victims of dog bites or attacks. In 2013, State Farm paid $104 million as a result of 3,700 dog bite claims. In Canada, Ontario led the way with $940,000 from 31 claims, down from a record of $2.4 million and 33 claims in 2012. “Over the past five years, State Farm has paid $510 million from over 18,400 claims resulting from incidents involving dogs in Canada and the United States,” State Farm said last May 14.

As of January, State Farm Canada is part of the Desjardins Group and is no longer associated with State Farm USA except for the brand name.