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HISTORY
- October 1, 2024: Met with Nova Scotia Service Dog Registrar to get feedback on Bill 111 Service Dog Act.
- September 10, 2024: Met with Minister and Deputy Minister of Justice & Public Safety to discuss Bill 111 Service Dog Act.
- August 29, 2024: Public Places consultation survey released – click here to view and respond.
- August 29, 2024: Handler consultation survey released – click here to view and respond.
- July 11, 2024: Memo sent to Minister of Justice & Public Safety, and Minister of Social Development & Seniors asking for input to help in making progress on Bill 111 Service Dog Act.
- May 27, 2024: Met with Minister and Deputy Minister of Social Development & Seniors to discuss government department responsibility for Bill 111 Service Dog Act, and get feedback on bill.
- April 11, 2024: Received confidential feedback from Department of Justice & Public Safety regarding Bill 108 Service Dog Act tabled by Jamie Fox, and Bill 111 Service Dog Act. The main feedback was compiled on May 29, 2023, with updates made available to the Deputy Minister of February 22, 2024. Noting the dates, this information could have been provided well before the bill was tabled on March 21, 2024 – when it was assumed that government had no feedback. This resulted in the need to make several amendments to already tabled legislation.
- April 3, 2024: After several additional one-on-one consultations – especially with the Human Rights commission – more amendments are required. Also the decision has been made to hold at least one more public consultation.
- March 21, 2024: Bill 111 – Service Dog Act tabled in legislature with amendments from March 13, 2024 public consultation.
- March 13, 2024: Public consultation held at 7:00pm at the Hunter River Lions Club. See results of consultation by clicking here.
- June 20, 2023: Bill 101 – Service Dog Act tabled in legislature by former MLA Jamie Fox
- Fall 2016: Rev. Dr. Karen MacRae contacted me to discuss Service Animal legislation
A service dog is trained to assist a person with a disability. The work performed by a service dog must be directly related to a person’s intellectual, mental or physical disability. At present, there is no standardized identification or certification of service dogs on PEI.
The proposed Bill 111 – Service Dog Act is legislation that prescribes laws governing registration and certification of service dogs on Prince Edward Island.
Bill 111 is based on legislation from Nova Scotia. An earlier version was originally tabled as Bill 101 on June 20, 2023 by former MLA Jamie Fox, and with his resignation is dead on the order paper. I decided to re-introduce the legislation as I believe it is important that it is passed and becomes law.
The regulations that will be developed for the proposed Service Dog Act will contain many details of interest. It is likely that our Service Dog Act Regulations will be similar to those of Nova Scotia. For your information you can find the Nova Scotia Service Dogs Regulations at: https://novascotia.ca/just/regulations/regs/sdservicedogs.htm or as a PDF at this link.
It is clear that education regarding service dogs is needed, regardless of any legislation brought forward. Those responsible for public places (e.g. business owners/staff), and the general public must learn how to deal with service dog teams. For example:
- When service dogs are working they are not to be petted, fed, or otherwise approached. This is particularly a problem with children, and other pets (e.g. at stores that allow pets).
- It is not appropriate to ask a handler why they need a service dog, or what their “disability” is.
- It is a human right for service dogs to have access to public spaces with the person they are helping. Even with the new Service Dog Act in place, it will still be voluntary to register/certify/license a service dog.
- The Human Rights Act supersedes the proposed new Service Dog Act legislation, and human-rights-related service dog inquiries will still be handled by the PEI Human Rights Commission.
Consultations
- April 2, 2024 – Meeting with the PEI Human Rights Commission.
- March 13, 2024 @ 7:00pm – Hunter River Lions Club (4615 Rennies Rd) – see details in post at link below
- February / March 2024 – Various consultations with individual advocates including handlers and trainers.
Media Coverage & Other References
- CBC March 1, 2024 “Proposed bill would make life easier for P.E.I. service dogs and their handlers” – https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-service-dog-act-1.7129840
- CBC February 29, 2024 (video) “Why this dog needs changes to P.E.I. legislation to do its job” – https://www.msn.com/en-ca/video/news/why-this-dog-needs-changes-to-pei-legislation-to-do-its-job/vi-BB1j9WjV?ocid=socialshare
- Service Dog Certificates – https://servicedogcertificates.org/service-dog-in-pei/
- Service Animals document (Human Rights Commission) – http://www.gov.pe.ca/photos/original/sa_fs.pdf
- Original Bill 101 Service Dog Act tabled by Jamie Fox, June 20, 2023 – https://docs.assembly.pe.ca/download/dms?objectId=68289472-a658-4a33-820b-8db8bd05d8fc&fileName=bill-101.pdf
- CBC June 18, 2019 “Does P.E.I. need service animal standards?” – https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/service-animal-standards-pei-1.5179471
- Saltwire July 27, 2022 “Woman wants service dog awareness after facing pushback in P.E.I. park, businesses” – https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/news/woman-wants-service-dog-awareness-after-facing-pushback-in-pei-park-businesses-100756755/
- CNIB Guide Dog Legislation – https://www.cnib.ca/en/guide-dog-legislation?region=on