CALGARY — Calgary’s ban on shark fins may be kept afloat,
despite an Ontario court ruling that prevents Toronto from wiping the
controversial Chinese soup ingredient off menus.
It was a rough weekend for the fin ban’s council supporters, who faced frustration at a Chinese community hearing and must now reconsider the Calgary bylaw’s legal validity.
But while an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled Toronto lacked the right to enact a shark fin bylaw, Calgary may have more power under Alberta’s Municipal Government Act, said local lawyer Chris Davis.
“It leaves it very broad as to what municipalities might be able to do,” said Davis, who specializes in municipal law for Jensen Davis Law.
“That is where we may be distinguishable from Ontario.”
He pointed to Calgary’s cabbie battle in 2004 as a precedent-setting case.
The Supreme Court of Canada backed the city’s ability to cap the number of licence plates issued to taxis. It ended an 18-year dispute over municipal regulation of the industry.
The Ontario ruling could have an impact here, according to Ald. Brian Pincott, who said city lawyers will closely examine the case.
However, Pincott noted the shark-fin bylaw was green-lighted before being rolled out in council chambers last July.
“Our lawyers said we could go ahead and do it,” he said Sunday.
The Ward 11 alderman also said he looked at anti-fin regulations in a dozen other places — including Toronto — prior to pushing for the ban.
Toronto and Calgary use similar terms in their bylaws to outlaw the possession, sale and consumption of shark fin.
Both also cite threats to the shark population, ecosystem and consumers’ health as grounds for banning the Asian delicacy.
However, the Toronto ban had more teeth, with scofflaws receiving a $100,000 fine for a third offence versus $3,000 in Calgary.
The practice of finning has come under fire from critics who decry cutting the flippers off sharks and dumping the fish back into the ocean still alive.
The federal government banned shark finning in Canadian waters in 1994, but still allows the product to be imported. Calgary’s bylaw, which would take effect in July 2013, passed a first reading in October.
However, council ordered Pincott and Ward 8 Ald. John Mar to consult the community before second reading in January.
About 100 people attended a town hall meeting at the Chinese Cultural Centre on the weekend to rally against the bylaw.
Many complained the city did not conduct a proper consultation — a point conceded by the alderman who first proposed the ban earlier this year.
“I realize that you were not consulted, and I should have,” Pincott told the crowd.
But that argument didn’t sway many in the crowd, including a recently formed advocacy group, the Coalition for Transparent and Accountable Governance.
Richard Poon, spokesman for the group, said city council has forgotten its role and responsibility and is over-reaching its mandate.
“Why is a municipal government spending resources on a global issue?” he wondered.
A bylaw banning shark fin soup in Calgary amounts to “legislative bullying,” he said, adding council’s motive may be based on something other than environmental concerns.
It was a rough weekend for the fin ban’s council supporters, who faced frustration at a Chinese community hearing and must now reconsider the Calgary bylaw’s legal validity.
But while an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled Toronto lacked the right to enact a shark fin bylaw, Calgary may have more power under Alberta’s Municipal Government Act, said local lawyer Chris Davis.
“It leaves it very broad as to what municipalities might be able to do,” said Davis, who specializes in municipal law for Jensen Davis Law.
“That is where we may be distinguishable from Ontario.”
He pointed to Calgary’s cabbie battle in 2004 as a precedent-setting case.
The Supreme Court of Canada backed the city’s ability to cap the number of licence plates issued to taxis. It ended an 18-year dispute over municipal regulation of the industry.
The Ontario ruling could have an impact here, according to Ald. Brian Pincott, who said city lawyers will closely examine the case.
However, Pincott noted the shark-fin bylaw was green-lighted before being rolled out in council chambers last July.
“Our lawyers said we could go ahead and do it,” he said Sunday.
The Ward 11 alderman also said he looked at anti-fin regulations in a dozen other places — including Toronto — prior to pushing for the ban.
Toronto and Calgary use similar terms in their bylaws to outlaw the possession, sale and consumption of shark fin.
Both also cite threats to the shark population, ecosystem and consumers’ health as grounds for banning the Asian delicacy.
However, the Toronto ban had more teeth, with scofflaws receiving a $100,000 fine for a third offence versus $3,000 in Calgary.
The practice of finning has come under fire from critics who decry cutting the flippers off sharks and dumping the fish back into the ocean still alive.
The federal government banned shark finning in Canadian waters in 1994, but still allows the product to be imported. Calgary’s bylaw, which would take effect in July 2013, passed a first reading in October.
However, council ordered Pincott and Ward 8 Ald. John Mar to consult the community before second reading in January.
About 100 people attended a town hall meeting at the Chinese Cultural Centre on the weekend to rally against the bylaw.
Many complained the city did not conduct a proper consultation — a point conceded by the alderman who first proposed the ban earlier this year.
“I realize that you were not consulted, and I should have,” Pincott told the crowd.
But that argument didn’t sway many in the crowd, including a recently formed advocacy group, the Coalition for Transparent and Accountable Governance.
Richard Poon, spokesman for the group, said city council has forgotten its role and responsibility and is over-reaching its mandate.
“Why is a municipal government spending resources on a global issue?” he wondered.
A bylaw banning shark fin soup in Calgary amounts to “legislative bullying,” he said, adding council’s motive may be based on something other than environmental concerns.
Another town hall has been planned for Dec. 14.
Ken Lee, president of the Chinese Merchants Association, warned that legal action could be taken if city council doesn’t follow Ontario’s lead.
“We are getting nowhere,” Lee said Sunday. “And legal action is a strong option.”
bweismiller@calgaryherald.com
Ken Lee, president of the Chinese Merchants Association, warned that legal action could be taken if city council doesn’t follow Ontario’s lead.
“We are getting nowhere,” Lee said Sunday. “And legal action is a strong option.”
bweismiller@calgaryherald.com
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