EDMONTON – Edmonton Police Service canine unit members who spent several days in Ottawa have returned after hearing Quanto’s Law included in Wednesday’s Throne Speech.
Edmonton Police Service Dog Quanto died after allegedly being stabbed during a suspect pursuit on Oct. 7.
Two Edmonton officers, Staff Sgt. Troy Carriere and Cst. Matt Williamson, Quanto’s handler, were invited to come to Ottawa for the Throne Speech.
“Then, on the 10th… we received a request from the Prime Minister’s Office to attend the Speech from the Throne,” said Carriere.
While there, they met with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Justice Minister Peter MacKay.
After meeting with the Justice Minister and Prime Minister, Carriere said they weren’t sure what to expect from the Throne Speech.
“We didn’t know a lot about what was going to be mentioned in the speech. We knew that there was something that would be obviously around the loss of Quanto… that’s all we really had for information,” said Carriere.
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Both EPS officers were sitting in Senate Chamber listening to Governor General read throne speech, and heard first-hand that there were going to be new protections for police dogs. Carriere said learning that it was going to called Quanto’s Law was a complete surprise, and an emotional one.
“I know for myself and obviously for Matt, who’s still going through clearly a difficult time with the loss of Quanto, it personalized the situation and what happened on October 7 with Quanto. It certainly doesn’t bring complete closure to what happened but … if some good can come out of a tragedy like we saw on October 7, it’s definitely a start.”
Carriere said these changes are important.
“The charge of cruelty to animals… it wasn’t put together to deal with assaults, injuries, or deaths surrounding law enforcement animals. This legislation deals with all of the above with law enforcement animals, and that’s what we need. To have a successful prosecution, we need the laws written to deal with the actual incident itself.”
Carriere stressed that this legislation, while important, should in no way be compared to laws protecting police officers.
“There’s a difference between a police officer and a law enforcement animal, there’s no question,” explained Carriere. “I don’t want to disrespect anybody who’s lost a family member who was a police officer in any way by claiming that that is the same.
“These animals are there to do a job, and it’s a difficult job and it’s a dangerous job,” he added. “They’re there to protect my handlers. They’re there to protect other police officers, and ultimately, protect society, so they do deserve a law to protect them.”
Williamson is currently taking time off from work. However, he has plans to return to the EPS canine unit and train another police service dog.
It is not clear when Quanto’s Law will come into effect.
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