Nova Scotia Justice Minister Scott Armstrong said his office will look at municipal bylaws related to animal control following a dog attack that killed a 13-year-old boy in January. Drew Nickerson was mauled by three dogs while riding his bike on Upper Sandy Cove Road in Welshtown, N.S., on Jan. 3. The teen suffered life-threatening injuries and was airlifted to hospital in Halifax, where he later died. The dogs, two cane corsos and a Rottweiler, were euthanized by a veterinarian. Last week, police said they had concluded their eight-month investigation, which included analyzing video footage, witness and neighbour interviews and information from the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service. However, the RCMP said there were “insufficient grounds” to lay charges following the investigation. At a cabinet meeting Thursday, the justice minister said he has “confidence” in the RCMP, but he is looking for ways to support change on a provincial level. “My concern would be in this case, that if this does not rise to the level of criminal negligence or criminal negligence [resulting in] death, the next lower level that we really have in Nova Scotia is municipal bylaws in terms of animal control,” he said. “It might not be the level of criminality, but there could be other from other areas that we could look at, in terms of a provincewide approach to animal control, not stepping on the jurisdiction of municipalities.” The minister stopped short of commenting on whether police had enough evidence to support a charge. “That’s not something from a Department of Justice point of view we involve ourselves in because we really have to have that separation from the political level of the Department of Justice and operational level. Decisions have to be at the hands of the police…we don’t want politicians directing police services who do prosecute, when to prosecute and how to prosecute,” he said. The minister says he is “tremendously disturbed” by the incident and offered his condolences to the family. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
