Do the Provisions Contravene the Right to Trial Fairness?
[194] The applicant contends that s. 19 of the Act, which provides for the receipt in evidence of a veterinary certificate, violates both s. 7 and s. 11 (d) of the Charter. [195] Section 19 of the Act provides as follows: (1) A document purporting to be signed by a member of the College of Veterinarians of Ontario stating that a dog is a pit bull within the meaning of this Act is receivable in evidence in a prosecution for an offence under this Act as proof, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that the dog is a pit bull for the purposes of this Act, without proof of the signature and without proof that the signatory is a member of the college. (2) No action or other proceeding may be instituted against a member of the College of Veterinarians of Ontario for providing, in good faith, a document described in subsection (1). (3) For greater certainly, this section does not remove the onus on the prosecution to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. [196] It has already been not
