Horse-drawn carriages returned to the streets of Old Montreal on Wednesday, May 25, 2016, after Mayor Denis Coderre announced the cancellation of the year-long moratorium he had declared just the previous week. His decision was reversed after a Quebec Superior Court justice granted a temporary injunction to the carriage drivers that would have allowed them to continue working until at least June 3. Calèche drivers, who had been concerned for their livelihoods and those of their horses, are ecstatic with the decision. Drivers had protested with their carriages in front of city hall on May 24, 2016.

In a statement, Coderre told reporters, “I will comply with what the judge said, but there will be a new policy for the horses.” He said the city intends to study the horses, their stables, and public safety and create new guidelines.

For background on this story, please see the article below:

Horse-Drawn Carriages Return to Montreal Streets

A moratorium announced on May 18, 2016 by Mayor Denis Coderre will take horse-drawn calèches off the streets of Old Montreal starting Tuesday, May 24, 2016. The carriages are not banned outright but will be gone for a year while his administration studies the safety and living conditions of the horses. 

“There’s a difference between saying no more, and there’s a moratorium,” Coderre said. “First or foremost, there’s two priorities, to make sure there’s safety — safety for the people, safety for the horses and if they are living in bad conditions, if we feel they should do better in a better way.”

Carriage drivers are concerned about their livelihoods and about being able to take care of their horses with no income. Drivers were hoping for a profitable summer of giving rides to tourists to cover the expenses of maintaining the horses year-round.

A horse and carriage in famous Montreal Square, one of the main attractions in old Montreal. Credit: Shutterstock/Lissandra Melo

Carriage drivers and their employees, with less than a week’s notice that their industry would be shut down, are upset at the abruptness of the announcement and say the city should have given them warning at the start of the year. The city will reimburse the 24 drivers their permit cost of $670 ($550 for the carriage and $120 for the driver), but those left unemployed say the $670 is a pittance compared to the money they have invested. 

Animal rights activists have long promoted a ban on the industry, saying it is cruel to make horses work long hours in traffic and pollution.

In a statement on their website on May 18, 2016 the Montreal SPCA responded positively to the announcement:

“On behalf of the millions of animal lovers in Montreal, the Montreal SPCA would like to congratulate Denis Coderre and his administration for taking this necessary first step by shedding an investigative light on this troubled industry. The Montreal SPCA remains cautiously optimistic until a permanent solution is adopted which does not include the use of carriage horses in our City.

“The Montreal SPCA has always been extremely concerned about the welfare and safety of carriage horses in Montreal. In fact, we strongly condemn the use of carriages horses in urban environments. Carriage horses in Montreal are often forced to work 9 or more hours per day 7 days a week, are subject to potential collisions with traffic, loud noises that can cause ‘spooking’ (which can also endanger humans), extreme temperatures and years of walking on unnaturally hard surfaces which often causes lameness.”

Dominique Pelletier, who recently completed her Master’s thesis at Concordia University about the carriage industry, has worked as a calèche driver for more than a decade. She says most owners do their best to care for the horses and a lot of people are doing their jobs the right way. “This is going to be very problematic for them. For a lot of people, it is the way they earn their living.”

The ban affects 56 horses.

With files from www.cbc.ca, www.theglobeandmail.com, www.spca.com.

Photo: Shutterstock/lzbieta Sekowska