Brace for a cat fight

Brace for another cat fight over pet licences.

Coun. Sam Merulla will bring forward a motion next month calling for licensing of cats in an effort to promote "responsible pet ownership" and manage the "cat overpopulation" problem in the city.

A consultant recommended just such a plan back in 2008, sparking a resident backlash. Council told staff not to study the idea as part of a comprehensive animal bylaw review.

Cats represent close to 40 per cent of the costs of animal bylaw enforcement in the city, staff estimate.

The motion comes on the heels of another study initiated by Merulla to look at ways to increase adoption rates of dogs and cats collected by animal services. The city euthanized 641 cats last year.

All downhill from here

City council has jumped aboard a plan to reintroduce legal tobogganing in the city.

Council unanimously approved a Terry Whitehead motion to study allowing tobogganing at a limited number of city hills.

Risk management staff told The Spectator last month that study had already unofficially begun, spurred in large part by growing resident outrage over a long-standing but little publicized bylaw against sledding.

The rule became international news in part after an infamous and successful lawsuit against the city by a tobogganer who was injured at a popular reservoir.

A report outlining possible legal sledding hills won't be ready until summer.

Transit discussion stalled

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The debate over area rating of transit will wait until next month.

Coun. Sam Merulla deferred a controversial motion Wednesday asking for a study of adding bus service to the regular tax levy.

Right now, rural and suburban areas pay less for transit - or not at all - based on historical usage and access to bus service.

The debate will likely come after a March 6 meeting on a 10-year plan to beef up HSR service. That plan, also contentious, calls for an extra $6 million to be added to the transit budget by 2016, as well as 50 new drivers and 25 buses.