The City of Edmonton says animal control officers acted appropriately when investigating two previous dog attacks at the south Edmonton home where an 11-year-old boy was later killed.
“Prior to the fatality on April 1, 2024, the city had no lawful basis to remove the dogs from the home,” the city said Friday in a statement to CBC News.
“A review of city processes confirms that City of Edmonton staff acted appropriately in accordance with our standard practices and in compliance with the relevant legal constraints given the nature of past complaints and reports.”
Kache Grist, who lived in Osoyoos, B.C., was visiting his father in Edmonton when he was fatally attacked on April 1 by two large dogs.
Animal Control peace officers had visited the same address in Edmonton’s Summerside neighbourhood twice previously this year to investigate other attacks. The child’s death put the city’s animal control processes under intense scrutiny.
In a statement Friday, city officials said a review investigating why the dogs were not seized from the home after the earlier attacks is now complete.
The review found no issues with how bylaw officers responded to the previous complaints, the city said.
It said all previous complaints about the dogs were investigated thoroughly and a review of city processes found that “appropriate action” was taken in accordance with all relevant legislation, including municipal bylaws.
Under city bylaws, a peace officer may seize and impound any dog alleged to have seriously injured or killed a person or animal.
Before seizing and impounding a dog, an officer must consider whether the dog was acting in self-defence or was acting out to prevent a person from committing an unlawful act.
The city said one of the previous dog attack complaints was concluded without charges and the other is still under investigation, pending the results of an investigation by Edmonton police.
Edmonton police continue to investigate the case. No charges have been laid.
Kache Grist, 11, of Osoyoos, B.C., died on April 1 after he was attacked by two large dogs inside an Edmonton home. (Submitted by Kendrah Wong)
“Fatal dog attacks are extremely rare, and this is the first known fatal attack in Edmonton in many years,” the city statement reads.
“We are taking this tragic incident very seriously and are working with the Edmonton Police Service to ensure all legal options are considered to ensure public safety.”
Victim in previous attack plans legal action
An Edmonton woman who alleges she was seriously injured in one of the previous attacks is planning to take legal action.
Raj Bhogal, with Edmonton-based Preszler Injury Lawyers, said his client, a woman in her 40s, suffered multiple wounds in February when she was attacked by two large dogs at the same home.
Bhogal said his client, who lives in the Edmonton area, was visiting a friend at the property when she was attacked in the backyard by two dogs believed to be Cane Corsos.
“The attack started with one dog who jumped on her and caused her to fall onto the ground,” Bhogal said. “Then the second dog also began to attack. She sustained very serious injuries.”
The woman was treated in hospital for a punctured lung, broken ribs and multiple lacerations that required stitches, he said.
The woman has declined to speak with CBC News.
Bhogal said multiple people were living in the home. The woman was visiting a friend who was neither the owner of the dogs or Kache’s father.
He said the woman filed a complaint with the city and provided a statement to an animal control officer. The outcome of that investigation remains unclear, Bhogal said.
“She’s unsure as to what was done by animal control following following her statement,” he said.
“What we do know is that my client sustained very serious injuries … and those dogs were able to do it again and much worse, just a couple months later.”
Bhogal said a statement of claim will be filed once the law firm has concluded its own investigation.
He said his client remains troubled by Kache’s death and hopes her case helps to prevent similar attacks.
“She knows that she did everything she could as a victim to to something like this,” he said. “But it’s difficult for her.”
Kache’s father, Wesley Grist, told reporters April 7 that the dogs belonged to his roommate, and they have since been euthanized.
Grist said his son was comfortable with the pets and had often cuddled with them on the couch.
The father said he doesn’t know what sparked the attack, since he was in the garage fixing a tire at the time, but he said he’d left his son alone for no longer than 10 minutes.
“My world went from being happy, loving, hugging my son, and 10 minutes later my world was completely ripped apart,” he said. “My heart was crushed.”
Watch: Father of boy killed in dog attack shares his grief:
Father of Edmonton dog attack victim says animals weren’t a risk to his son
5 days ago
Duration 2:57
Wesley Grist, whose son Kache was killed in a dog attack in Edmonton last week, described what happened before his son’s death and the negative response that followed.
HAIDA GWAII, BRITISH COLUMBIA – The northern British Columbia coast was rattled by two earthquakes below the ocean floor on Sunday.
Natural Resources Canada said the first quake hit at 3:20 p.m. and measured 6, while the second came about an hour later and measured 4.5.
It says no damage was reported and none would be expected.
The U.S. Geological Survey set the magnitude of the quake at 6.5, and says it was centred at about the midway point between Haida Gwaii and Port McNeill on the northern end of Vancouver Island.
The American Tsunami warning centre said no tsunami was expected to be generated.
Ben Wilson, the food and beverage manager at the Willows Golf Course in Sandspit, B.C., says he was home on his break when he felt the ground shake, long enough to know what it was, but not long enough to concern him.
“This one was definitely more noticeable than some, but not by any means, the biggest one I’ve ever felt here.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.
OTTAWA – Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre signaled the Liberals’ carbon price and the economy will remain his prime target when Parliament resumes this week.
He painted a dystopian picture during a Sunday morning speech to his caucus, saying the Liberal government’s plans to increase the price would cause a “nuclear winter” for the economy.
“There would be mass hunger and malnutrition with a tax this high … our seniors would have to turn the heat down to 14 or 13 C just to make it through the winter,” Poilievre said.
“Inflation would run rampant and people would not be able to leave their homes or drive anywhere.”
The Conservatives are the last of the major parties to have a fall strategy session after the Liberals, NDP and Bloc Québécois all met last week.
Poilievre has maintained his party’s commanding lead in the polls throughout the summer, and is preparing to make another push to topple the Liberal government as early as this week.
All parties are adjusting their autumn plans after NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh ended the agreement that was ensuring Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government would stay in power.
Poilievre has promised to bring in notice of a non-confidence motion at his first opportunity, and that could happen as early as this week. The Tories would likely need the support of both the NDP and the Bloc to pass the motion, which appears unlikely.
Last week, Singh criticized both the Liberals and the Conservatives over their approaches to fighting climate change, but wouldn’t say whether he would keep the consumer carbon price if his party forms government after the next election.
Trudeau responded by accusing Singh of caving to political pressure from Poilievre.
Poilievre has not been fully clear on whether he would cancel both the consumer carbon levy, charged to individuals and smaller businesses, as well as the separate system that applies to big industry.
In his speech Sunday, Poilievre took shots at both Trudeau and Singh. “This crazy carbon tax obsession of Justin Trudeau and the NDP is an existential threat to our economy and our way of life,” he said.
Poilievre said despite the NDP pulling out of the supply-and-confidence agreement with the Liberals, Singh isn’t committing to voting to bring down the government and trigger an election.
“Now on the eve of a byelection, sellout Jagmeet Singh wants you to believe he’s a changed man. He’s a totally new person. He’s forgotten about everything he’s been doing for two years.”
As Parliament resumes on Monday, the political mood of the country will be tested in two byelections.
The NDP are trying to fend off the Conservatives in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona and the Liberals are running a three-way race against the NDP and the Bloc in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun.
In a June byelection, the Conservatives scored a surprise win in the longtime Liberal stronghold of Toronto—St. Paul’s.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.
WINNIPEG – Some 250 coloured tacks pepper a large-scale world map among bookshelves at Whodunit Mystery Bookstore.
Estonia, Finland, Japan and even Fenwick, Ont., have pins representing places outside Winnipeg where someone has ordered a page-turner from the independent bookstore that specializes in mystery and crime fiction novels.
For 30 years, the store has been offering fans of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot or Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes a place to get lost in whodunits both old and new.
Jack and Wendy Bumsted bought the shop in the Crescentwood neighbourhood in 2007 from another pair of mystery lovers.
The married couple had been longtime customers of the store. Wendy Bumsted grew up reading Perry Mason novels while her husband was a historian with vast knowledge of the crime fiction genre.
At the time, Jack Bumsted was retiring from teaching at the University of Manitoba when he was looking for his next venture.
“The bookstore came up and we bought it, I think, within a week,” Wendy Bumsted said in an interview.
“It never didn’t seem like a good idea.”
In the years since the Bumsteds took ownership, the family has witnessed the decline in mail-order books, the introduction of online retailers, a relocation to a new space next to the original, a pandemic and the death of beloved co-owner Jack Bumsted in 2020.
But with all the changes that come with owning a small business, customers continue to trust their next mystery fix will come from one of the shelves at Whodunit.
Many still request to be called about books from specific authors, or want to be notified if a new book follows their favourite format. Some arrive at the shop like clockwork each week hoping to get suggestions from Wendy Bumsted or her son on the next big hit.
“She has really excellent instincts on what we should be getting and what we should be promoting,” Micheal Bumsted said of his mother.
Wendy Bumsted suggested the store stock “Thursday Murder Club,” the debut novel from British television host Richard Osman, before it became a bestseller. They ordered more copies than other bookstores in Canada knowing it had the potential to be a hit, said Michael Bumsted.
The store houses more than 18,000 new and used novels. That’s not including the boxes of books that sit in Wendy Bumsted’s tiny office, or the packages that take up space on some of the only available seating there, waiting to be added to the inventory.
Just as the genre has evolved, so has the Bumsteds’ willingness to welcome other subjects on their shelves — despite some pushback from loyal customers and initially the Bumsted patriarch.
For years, Jack Bumsted refused to sell anything outside the crime fiction genre, including his own published books. Instead, he would send potential buyers to another store, but would offer to sign the books if they came back with them.
Wendy Bumsted said that eventually changed in his later years.
Now, about 15 per cent of the store’s stock is of other genres, such as romance or children’s books.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced them to look at expanding their selection, as some customers turned to buying books through the store’s website, which is set up to allow purchasers to get anything from the publishers the Bumsteds have contracts with.
In 2019, the store sold fewer than 100 books online. That number jumped to more than 3,000 in 2020, as retailers had to deal with pandemic lockdowns.
After years of running a successful mail-order business, the store was able to quickly adapt when it had to temporarily shut its doors, said Michael Bumsted.
“We were not a store…that had to figure out how to get books to people when they weren’t here.”
He added being a community bookstore with a niche has helped the family stay in business when other retailers have struggled. Part of that has included building lasting relationships.
“Some people have put it in their wills that their books will come to us,” said Wendy Bumsted.
Some of those collections have included tips on traveling through Asia in the early 2000s or the history of Australian cricket.
Micheal Bumsted said they’ve had to learn to be patient with selling some of these more obscure titles, but eventually the time comes for them to find a new home.
“One of the great things about physical books is that they can be there for you when you are ready for them.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Sept. 15, 2024.
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