I appreciate that, as somebody who has spent a lot of time on horseback. That was my job. I was a national park warden; actually, I was a back country warden. I spent hours on that horse and I still do in my own spare time when I go hunting or camping in the Rocky Mountains. I'm lucky to be from Alberta and have those opportunities.
I understand the bond that's created between a master—if you want to call it that—and the service animal, whether it's a horse for the very reasons that you highlighted, or with a dog.
There have been a lot of questions and concerns brought up about some of the issues around mandatory minimum sentences and some of the other provisions that we have here. One of the questions that I have a bit of a technical concern with—even though I agree totally in principle with the legislation—is that we've seen animals being used in space exploration and in a lot of different capacities. Some of those reasons might include the rehabilitation of the animal, but the other reason might simply be that the animal is being used in place of a human being as the initial point of contact, or there is a safety consideration or concern.
I think the issue is twofold, especially when it comes to service dogs. One, they can provide the services more quickly, efficiently, and more accurately, like you rightly said. Two, they're also sometimes sent into situations where it might not be safe for an officer to go in initially, or it might be too cumbersome. I mean a foot race between two human beings takes a lot longer to resolve than a foot race between a German Shepherd and a human being, for example.
When we put these provisions in place, which I'm sure will be passed, they will confer these animals with a certain level of protection above and beyond other animals, and rightly so for the risks they are taking under going these particular activities.
I'm wondering if there are other countries that we're aware of or other jurisdictions within Canada at the provincial level that may already offer certain protections to service animals?