Maher, running for a council seat in Trinity-Spadina (Ward 20), is calling on the city to ban sales of cats and dogs in Toronto pet stores, saying it would “reduce the number of unwanted pets” in the city.

He further charges a pet shop is “not a healthy environment for the (animals) and may result in future behavioural problems.”

Maher will plead his case for a ban – which would take effect a year after a bylaw passes – next Friday, Aug. 13 at Toronto City Council’s licensing and standards committee, which could act on or study the issue.

In a letter to committee chairperson Howard Moscoe, Maher said stopping the store sales would promote responsible pet ownership of puppies and kittens instead of impulse buys “based on their ‘cuteness’ factor.”

The candidate said 11 of the city’s registered pet shops sell dogs and cats. Maher said he visited two stores on the list and asked Toronto Animal Services to investigate conditions there in which dogs were caged.

Stacey Halliday, marketing director for PJ’s Pet Centres, said the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council is talking with the city to see where Maher got his information and whether the industry can do anything to address his concerns.

But in an interview Friday, Aug. 6 she said his allegations certainly did not reflect visits to her company’s stores, where, Halliday said, staff do everything possible to send people home with information they need and a sense of lifelong responsibility toward the animals they purchased.

“Our pets stay with their owners for a very long time and there’s a reason why,” she said, arguing dogs bought through services such as Craiglist or from a neighbour’s litter down the street are more likely to wind up euthanized or abandoned.

Dr. Kenneth Hill, a veterinarian at the Bloor Mill Veterinary Hospital in Etobicoke, supported Maher’s proposal in a letter, saying he previously worked at “several Toronto region pet stores” and, based on his experience, “staff at pet stores are often poorly trained and not equipped to provide prospective owners with sound advice” on selecting the pet best for their household.

Pet owners then become dissatisfied or unable to cope with the animals, which “are then prone to suffer neglect” or be euthanized, wrote Hill, who said he sees pets with serious health or behavioural problem “disproportionately over-represented” in puppies and kittens bought from pet stores.

~ Mike Adler

NDP leader’s son makes foray into politics

Though Jack Layton is firmly entrenched in federal politics, the Layton family is planning a return to City Hall.

Mike Layton, Jack’s son, unveiled his plans to run in this fall’s municipal election on Friday, March 5 amid a throng of supporters at Bar Italia.

He decided to run in Trinity-Spadina when the current longtime councillor, deputy mayor Joe Pantalone, decided to run for mayor.

Layton spoke of a platform focusing on ensuring local residents have safe places to live, strong neighbourhoods, successful local businesses and a green economy.

“I want to make sure Toronto is a place people want to live, and not just in their homes,” he said. “We need good roads that work for transit, bikes and people and we want the environmental side of things to continue to work.”

Though his family is well-versed in politics – Jack Layton was first elected to city council in 1982 and has served as leader of the federal NDP since 2003, while his stepmother Olivia Chow was a councillor from 1991 to 2005 and currently serves as MP for Trinity-Spadina – Mike Layton said his decision to run came about after some fairly intense thought.

“I did a lot of soul-searching and talked to as many community leaders and advocates as I could,” he said. “After that, it just felt like the right time.”

Though this is the 31-year-old Layton’s first foray into politics, his resume is not short on impressive credentials. He was one of the key people in setting up the Green Energy Act Alliance and serves as deputy director of Environmental Defence, both of which work toward green solutions for a healthier society.

Despite never having run for politics, he also has experience working on campaigns, most notably those of his well-known father. He said that pedigree will help, but added he hopes to be elected on his own merits, not on his family name.

“The people who are actually going to vote are the people of Trinity-Spadina,” he said. “I’ve been out there, and I’ll continue to go out there, talking to the various groups and people to try to understand the issues as well as I can.”

Layton said that, if elected, he will listen to voters first and foremost in helping to steer the direction of the city. With parts of the community undergoing fairly sweeping changes, he said he wants to preserve the elements that truly make it a ward worth living in.

“I want to make sure there’s a sense of community in the newer areas while keeping that sense of community in the more established neighbourhoods,” he said.

With Pantalone opting to run for mayor, the race in Ward 19 is wide open. Other declared candidates in the ward include community activist Himy Syed, cycling advocate Derek Chadbourne, Karen Sun of the Chinese Canadian National Council, Joshua Shang and Jim Likourezos.

– Justin Skinner