Pit-bull ban dominates increase in ombudsman complaints

Montreal ombudsman Johanne Savard said that last year her office dealt with almost 2,000 complaints against the city, a 65 per cent increase since 2012.

Complaints against the city of Montreal increased in 2017 for the fifth year in a row due in large part to complaints about the city ’s pit-bull-type dog legislation.

According to its annual report, the Office of the Ombudsman handled 1,958 complaints and processed 374 investigations last year. Eighty-eight of those investigations (more than any other category) were a result of complaints against the city’s pit-bull-type dog legislation. Around the time the legislation was initially adopted, Savard said she received a stream of complaints from concerned dog owners who didn’t want to lose their pets.

“The information was not clear. It was very difficult to find,” Savard said. “A lot of dog owners were concerned that they wouldn’t understand the rules and

A lot of dog owners were concerned that they wouldn’t understand the rules and they might ... have to let go of their dog.

that they might end up in a situation where they would have to let go of their dog.”

Savard said that the Office of the Ombudsman works with the city and complainants to try to find common ground so that disputes don’t end up in court.

Recommendations made by the ombudsman aren’t legally binding but Savard said that the city usually follows whatever recommendations are issued.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Savard attributed the large-scale increase in complaints to citizens who are “increasingly suspicious, cynical and critical of their administrations.”

She also said that more people have become aware of the ombudsman as a place they can turn to if they’re in a dispute with the city.

She said the ombudsman has had to hire two additional employees in the past year to help deal with the increase in the number of complaints. The city is aware of the increased demand her office is facing and is providing more resources, Savard noted.

“Of course if I had more people then I could do more, but we can manage all the complaints,” she said.

Anyone — residents, children, tourists — who feels that they have been mistreated by the city of Montreal can file a complaint with the office of the ombudsman at ombudsmandemontreal.com.