Toronto committee votes to strengthen dangerous dog bylaw requiring warning signs

Ethan Lang · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 08, 2025 2:48 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

The City of Toronto is looking to fortify a bylaw that requires informing signs extracurricular the homes of unsafe dogs, aft metropolis inspectors recovered past twelvemonth that immoderate buildings prohibited them from being posted.

On Tuesday, the city's economical and assemblage improvement committee voted unanimously to amend section 349 of the municipal code. The amendment requires condo dwellers with dogs deemed unsafe by the metropolis to station informing signs connected the beforehand doorway of their unit, aft galore were recovered not to person signs up past year.

In 2024, metropolis inspectors visited each code with a unsafe canine bid and recovered rules successful astir condominium buildings prohibited the posting of signs of immoderate type, according to a metropolis report.

Currently, determination are 335 unsafe canine orders successful Toronto, metropolis unit say, down from 373 past year. 

"This is an ongoing saga of however to negociate your unsafe dogs successful the metropolis of Toronto," Coun. Paula Fletcher said successful an interrogation Tuesday.

"Our bylaw volition alteration truthful that if you person a unsafe dog, nary substance what you unrecorded successful — apartment, single-family home, multiplex, condo — you person to show that sign."

The committee besides voted to contented letters to owners of unsafe dogs and their spot managers to explicate the changes.

Bylaw changes introduced aft vicious onslaught successful 2023

Fletcher pushed the instauration of the signage regularisation past twelvemonth aft a pistillate and a young lad were mauled successful a canine onslaught successful her East York ward in 2023. 

Along with the signage regularisation that followed, the metropolis besides created a public, online registry of unsafe canine orders.

WATCH | City considers bylaw changes aft canine attacks: 

One person, speaking arsenic a nationalist delegate astatine Tuesday's meeting, raised concerns to the committee that the bylaw changes don't spell acold enough.

"If there's a unsafe dog, enactment the motion successful the lobby, oregon amended still, connected the beforehand door," David Blythe told the committee. 

"If you're trying to pass people, however does a motion connected the doorway of an flat connected the 4th level pass maine if I unrecorded connected the 5th floor?"

City assembly volition see the bylaw amendment astatine the extremity of the month. 

City-issued signs travel with a QR codification which passersby tin scan to find metropolis accusation connected unsafe canine orders.

When canine attacks are reported, the metropolis investigates and determines whether an bid should beryllium issued. Orders are issued if the unsafe enactment is deemed severe, oregon if the canine has committed a unsafe enactment before.

Dogs deemed unsafe by the metropolis indispensable person socialization oregon obedience training, deterioration a peculiar canine tag and microchip, and beryllium muzzled successful public. They are besides prohibited from entering off-leash areas.

The metropolis provides entree to discounted grooming for owners who can't spend it connected their own.