The last update we gave was as Victoria City Council passed a resolution at a Committee of the Whole (CotW) meeting last summer to have staff investigate what would be involved in potentially phasing out and banning the horse carriages in Victoria. This resolution was based on the BC SPCA recommendations from May 2018 to council which proposed prohibiting horse carriages and trolleys on city streets. This first motion was only the beginning of a much larger political struggle on the horse carriages that would develop over the months to come.
A community divided
The initial motion brought forward by councillor Isitt was passed fairly quickly and quietly, but once it hit the news that the resolution had passed in the CotW, all those who saw ending this form of animal exploitation as an affront to tourism, business, and a colonial nostalgia began their relentless attack on council.
It started with the carriage industry threatening to sue city council for even discussing the issue. This was a bullying tactic used to intimidate against open and reasonable debate within government on the issue of animal exploitation. If they won such a spurious lawsuit, this would have had a chilling effect on the discourse and powers of the municipality to regulate businesses under public scrutiny, such as the horse carriages industry and other animal use industries. We had people research the legality of the municipalities right to impose a ban, and their opinion was that it fell within the city’s powers to do so as it related to the regulation of business.
Then came support from the tourism and business communities to continue the exploitation of horses on city streets. Some of these supporters included The Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Victoria Business Association, the Hoteliers Association of Victoria, Destination Victoria, among others. These business organizations stepping into a highly political issue with little understanding of what they are talking about to try and influence council is concerning. Here are local organizations advocating in favour of the horse carriage industry which has been recommended to be banned by the BC SPCA, the enforcement body of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and authority on animal welfare in the province. If these business organization do not respect the recommendations of those charged with protecting animals in the province, then we have little hope for animals to be treated decently in our society.
Furthermore, the media were relentless in their support for the carriage companies. While some outlets had already published one-sided stories for years, certain outlets exclusively covered pro-carriage material. Adam Stirling of CFAX 1070, who showed extreme bias on his show in favour of the carriages, even hanging-up on respectful pro-ban supporters on the radio, worked tirelessly promoting the efforts of the carriage companies, and supported their rally outside city hall to continue the exploitation of horses the day of the council vote.
To say the community was divided is an understatement. Although there was another side to the story, the narrative being supported by local media outlets only told the business side of animal exploitation. Those of us trying to represent the animals and who did all the work bringing this issue to the table were silenced.
Broken promises
In late 2018 and early 2019 we met with various city councillors sympathetic to ending the exploitation of horses on city streets. One of those councillors was Laurel Collins, now MP for Victoria. In late 2018, Laurel committed to voting in support of a phase out and ban to organizers of the Victoria Horse Alliance. She gave no indication of changing this position over the following months, but after the first resolution passed at the CotW meeting, where she voted in favour of the motion, pressure came from all angles for council to back off supporting the resolution. The motion required five votes to pass, and on the morning of the vote it was announced on CFAX 1070, by talk radio host Adam Stirling and Victoria Carriage Tours owner Donna Friedlander, that Collins had spoken with the carriage company the night before and was going to support them.
It is unclear why Collins decided to betray her word that she would support a phase out and ban, but likely this had to do with her running in the 2019 federal election for the NDP in Victoria and feeling like there was too many votes to lose taking a principled position against animal exploitation supported by Victoria’s tourism and business community.
The other councillor who betrayed their word was Mayor Lisa Helps. Saying she would support a phase out and ban both publicly and privately on numerous occasions, her new narrative was that banning horse carriages was not in the strategic plan, and so would distract from other priorities. Of course, she ignored the fact that the recommendations to ban the horse carriages from the BC SPCA had been with council since 2018, from before the municipal election, and the resolution which council passed to have staff report back on the recommendations in 2018 had been quietly shelved.
In fact, no member of council we spoke to could explain what happened to that staff report or why it hadn’t materialized when asked, including the Mayor. We did eventually receive word that the report was finally discussed at an in-camera meeting a year later in 2019.
One step forward two steps back
At the council meeting to pass the motion, nearly 70 people signed up to speak for and against the motion. Most of the pro-carriage presenters were employed or connected to the carriage industry and the majority lived outside of Victoria. All the speakers against the industry were volunteers, local activists, and concerned citizens. There were more speakers against the carriages than for.
After Collins reneged on her word, the resolution could not pass with only four votes in favour, so an alternative was crafted to have the BC SPCA present to council to confirm what was already clear in their recommendations. Councillors opposed to having staff investigate the issue further claimed that they did not know where the BC SPCA stood, so couldn’t decide, even though they had had the BC SPCA recommendations for over a year.
Come September, two representatives from the BC SPCA, Marcy Moriarty and Amy Morris, would address council and reiterate that the previous letters recommending a prohibition on horse carriages on city streets were still relevant. Members of council who support the carriage industry, such as Charlayne Thornton-Joe, continued to try and dissuade council away from taking action on this long overdue issue by bringing up the issue of banning kitten and puppy sales, although nowhere in Victoria sells kittens and puppies. In the end, council requested the BC SPCA report back to them on several resolutions related to signage, two-horse trolleys, and temperature restrictions.
The final betrayal
Despite sitting in council chambers in September and supporting their previous recommendations over a year after they were issued to council, two months later in November the BC SPCA returned with another letter to council saying that after meeting with the carriage companies and other equine professionals, they were reconsidering their position on two-horse trolleys. They did this at a vital moment for council as they considered banning the trolleys. When asked what new information was presented to them for them to change their mind, they did not provide any evidence. As a charity, the BC SPCA have no accountability or transparency to the public on the issues of animal welfare they enforce or provide an opinion on. While their earlier recommendations were based on the evidence brought before them, it’s reasonable to conclude that this new position was likely brought forward without any objective grounding except the influence and pressure of the equestrian and carriage industries.
Looking forward
From here, we are almost back where we started: With the BC SPCA distancing themselves from the issue due to internal and external pressure, and council still divided on whether to stop the exploitation of animals for entertainment on city streets. One shining light throughout all of this is that in Montreal the horse carriage ban has come into effect as of Jan 1st, 2020. Their Mayor and council ran on a platform that committed to ending the horse carriages, and they followed through on that commitment. A rare example of politicians living up to their word in the interest of those who cannot vote for them, and an example for politicians everywhere of how to govern with confidence. Until we have enough members on city council who oppose the exploitation of horses for entertainment on city streets, we will continue to raise-awareness of this issue and fight for the interests of the animals over profit.
Victoria Horse Alliance