Toronto court ruling could sink Calgary's shark fin ban: Alderman

Toronto court ruling could sink Calgary's shark fin ban: Alderman

The gutting of a Toronto shark fin ban might have taken a fatal bite out of a Calgary bid to prohibit the Asian delicacy, a city alderman said Saturday.

On Friday, an Ontario Supreme Court judge struck down the Toronto measure, ruling it was outside that city’s jurisdiction.

It’s a decision that might harpoon Calgary’s bid to pass a similar bylaw next month, said Ald. Druh Farrell, who supports the ban.

“We may have to focus on education on the impacts of shark-finning and do a better job of explaining why council supported this ban ,” said Farrell, adding the ruling is hardly decisive in the national debate.

“It’s an important issue that’s not going to go away because of what happened in Toronto.”
Just before a previously-planned town hall meeting Saturday on the issue in Calgary’s Chinatown, Ken Lee, an opponent of the bylaw, said if city council ignores the Ontario ruling, he and his colleagues will launch legal action to stop it.

“As the judge clearly stated, it’s out of their jurisdiction and we hope city councillors will take note of that,” said Lee, a member of the Calgary Chinese Merchants’ Association.

“A lawsuit would cost a lot and merchants also believe that law would spend our tax money and be a waste of resources.”

He also dubbed the bylaw toothless, adding shark fin soup isn’t a popular dish in Calgary restaurants anyway.

“It’s unenforceable and would bring no real benefit to Calgarians ... it’d just cause social tensions — Calgarians will be pointing fingers,” said Lee.

Ald. Brian Pincott, who’s pushed for the bylaw, said council will wait to see how city lawyers view the Ontario ruling.

And he said the court decision could have a silver lining in forcing the federal government to deal with issue, of which their refusal to do has landed the issue into the laps of municipalities.

“It just increases the pressure on the federal government, which needs to step up and do something about this,” he said.

“You have a group of cities across the country showing leadership on this, it’s a concern for Canadians from end to end.”

Pincott said he believes there are at least 30 Calgary restaurants that serve the dish, which can cost about $200 a bowl.

But he said council’s voting on the issue and the ongoing discussion has lowered consumption of the soup, which endangers sharks’ survivability.

“Anytime anyone knows anything about shark-finning, they’ll be making a choice not to eat it,” said Pincott.

bill.kaufmnann@sunmedia.ca
On Twitter: @SUNBillKaufmann

Shark fin timeline:
• 2008 report states 20% of shark species are critically endangered
• 2011: The European Commission proposes a ban on shark finning, which removes the fin while discarding the rest of the fish, in EU waters on EU-registered vessels world-wide
• July 16, 2012: Calgary City Council votes 13-2 to draft a bylaw banning shark fin possession or use.
• Sept. 1:Toronto’s shark fin ban goes into effect.
• Oct. 15: council passes first reading of the bylaw to prohibit shark fins in Calgary
• November, 2012: European Parliament backs a blanket ban on shark finning
• Nov. 30: Ontario Superior Court quashes Toronto shark fin prohibition, ruling it’s outside that city’s jurisdiction
• Dec. 1: Public hearing on the issue is held in Calgary’s Chinatown; opponents of ban say they’ll sue city if bylaw is pursued