There appears to be no sign of giving up on saving Axle and Paris, two Rottweilers on death row, after a group of animal rights protesters took their message to a city council meeting Monday evening.
“Why did I come here? It’s so obvious. I came here because, well, who are we to judge? When do dogs get any rights?” asked Hardeep Sandhu, one of 25 protesters, who brought his friendly Rottweiler to city hall.
Richmond resident and protest organizer Carolyn Quirt had a brief and literal stand-off with Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie in the council chambers before the protesters peacefully withdrew from city hall — under the watchful eye of three RCMP officers — after it was apparent the meeting would not diverge from the scheduled agenda.
When Brodie asked if anyone had comments regarding the scheduled agenda, protester Shelby Cumming, an animal trainer, stood up and addressed Brodie.
“I am here on behalf of the Mrs.Nijjer. She would like to make an appointment with you to discuss this matter,” said Cumming.
“We will talk after, okay,” Brodie told Cumming.
The dogs belong to Richmond residents Prabjot and Raj Nijjer. They’ve been impounded by the city after three alleged incidents over the past three years led a city bylaw officer to declare them “dangerous.” and a public threat.
On Monday an independent clinical animal behaviourist hired by the Nijjer family assessed the two dogs at the city pound.
“In a preliminary sense my impression of the dogs is that they are lovely dogs,” said Rebecca Ledger.
The Nijjers had wanted to address city council on the matter but were denied, as the matter is now before the courts; the fate of the dogs comes before a provincial court judge in April.
Later in the meeting, during an interlude, Quirt stood up and tried to speak.
“I’m asking you to sit down. ..Please have a seat, please have a seat,” Brodie told Quirt.
“She wants a meeting,” interjected Cumming, at which point Brodie appeared more impatient.
“I heard what she said. …Ma’am I’m asking you to sit down. Sit down,” said Brodie
Brodie repeated his calls for Quirt to sit down, who refused for about a minute.
As the meeting drew on, the protesters stood up, Cumming made one more plea for a meeting, then thanked city council before leaving.
Just before the council meeting wrapped up, Brodie explained the matter.
“The visitors at our council meeting wanted to speak about the prosecution involving dogs. We have a council bylaw, and it’s written in the law, that says we cannot entertain in a city council meeting any delegation — any people who want to speak to us — about items that are in active prosecution by the city and that is the case in this particular group. The group wanted to have meetings with me and under the circumstances, for the same reasons, I have to decline,” said Brodie.
Brodie then said if the Nijjer’s lawyer wanted to schedule a meeting with city staff and counsel, it would be “acceptable.”
Many protesters, such as Bonnie Marley, questioned why Brodie couldn’t take a moment to explain the matter in full.
“I’m a taxpayer and a citizen. I felt belittled. I think (Brodie) should have acknowledged the concerns beforehand,” said Marley.
On Tuesday Brodie told the News he could not interrupt the scheduled meeting to address an unscheduled matter.
“We were in a formal council meeting and it’s incumbent upon people to respect the chair of the meeting. …The parties there simply wanted to interrupt me,” said Brodie.
He noted that there can’t be political interference in matters before the court. and that he welcomes speaking to residents on any other matters concerning the city
Gurneet Takhar, a family friend of the Nijjers, said the matter was now larger than just the Nijjer’s dogs and that they want to prevent other dogs from being executed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX-hJ13RZaE&feature=c4-overview&list=UUBeujCtB4uEw9OwChq8hIJA
