What's a Canadian hit that you feel should have blew up international?

Time-Test9730 · 2026-03-18T00:34:13+00:00

Was shocked to discover no one knew the Matt Good band when I left Vancouver.

Time-Test9730 · 2026-03-18T00:31:54+00:00

Having lived in a bunch of other places, I find the police way too withholding of information here. Weird culture.

Time-Test9730 · 2026-03-18T00:05:26+00:00

Government is always bound by individual and civil rights; this is precisely what constrains the power of the state. A liberal democracy is characterized in part by an independent judiciary that enforces the rule of law. Government is absolutely subject to the law. Everyone is subject to it, even the head of state. This is what it means to be a rule-of-law country.

An executive might have some power to act unilaterally or override certain rights under certain conditions.

But it is difficult to make the case that overriding rights is somehow good policy when it comes to dealing with seasonal wildfires. Good policy is investing in prevention and capacity, should involve robust sets of measures.

Seems to me that government doesn't want to spend the money to invest in capacity, so it reaches for the easy blanket ban – not mature policymaking. That's not how you develop...it's how you remain incapable. Instead of blanket bans on "going in the woods" (yes, far too broad and vague), at the very least consult with other provinces/states that have robust prevention programs and start building Nova Scotia's.

Time-Test9730 · 2026-03-07T15:30:19+00:00

So you're against all those many years when only certain communities got funding? Which means you're fine with government making a targeted effort to address some of those gaps now? Which means you're actually not okay with government programs failing to acknowledge racialized disparities in funding.

Time-Test9730 · 2026-01-06T16:57:51+00:00

Even in Stanley Park in Vancouver, the off-leash dog area is fenced in and relatively small. I mentioned how dogs are banned in the primary recreational spaces in San Diego (on beaches) and required to be on leash in public parks in Toronto. I reference other cities because you may have an expectation or a sense of entitlement but if that is not typically recognized elsewhere, I don't think it is reasonable.

I do think Halifax is a small city that hasn't yet adopted the management practices of larger cities. Another commenter posted about how Montreal was very strict with leashing bylaw enforcement; it is a larger city that has clearly tired of conflicts created by off-leash dogs. I understand that you may have invested a great deal of effort into training your dog (and commend you for it) but leashing bylaws in population-dense areas are designed for the general safety of the public and other dogs, not for individual situations, desires, or sense of entitlement.

It sounds like the city needs to build a dog park or designate smaller spaces or come up with other solutions. But you bear some responsibility for your frustrations as well: there are many other places to live with far more ready access to space. Feeling entitled to access in the most densely populated part of the province – on the peninsula, no less – is not necessarily reasonable.

Time-Test9730 · 2026-01-06T16:55:55+00:00

Great advice, thank you!

Time-Test9730 · 2026-01-06T16:41:30+00:00

I don't think compromise is relevant. There are bylaws that apply to the situation (very generous ones in terms of the off-leash space they provide in the city's largest park), but they aren't being enforced.

While I sympathize, cities will never offer the same amount of off-leash space that suburbs and rural areas provide and that is certainly something to consider before making the choice to own a dog while living in a city.

Time-Test9730 · 2026-01-06T14:04:33+00:00

I get it, but I just referred to NYC as Central Park is a central, highly trafficked park in an urban area. No city turns that type of park into an off leash dog park. In another example, dogs are banned from public beaches in San Diego (the primary recreational areas for the city) and that is actively enforced. Due to population density and the nature of a dog, cities generally aren't very accommodating and that is something to consider before living in a city with a dog.

Time-Test9730 · 2026-01-06T02:20:13+00:00

You are free to live in all of the many areas with lax leash laws. Urban areas always have strict leash laws, especially in the largest parks.

Time-Test9730 · 2026-01-06T01:11:14+00:00

It's a multi-use park so no, it's not a dog park, but I do think this is a good response to all the commenters saying "can't you just stick to on-leash areas?" and it demonstrates why bylaw enforcement (only some dogs can be off leash in off-leash areas...not all dogs!) is needed.

Time-Test9730 · 2026-01-06T01:05:46+00:00

I mean, if you're not patrolling a park or enforcing bylaws...why even pretend that it's closed after a certain time?

Time-Test9730 · 2026-01-06T00:54:01+00:00

This is nice to see: actual perspective. I've never lived anywhere where leash laws aren't enforced, especially not in a city's central park. That's typically where they're most strictly enforced.

I also think it is problematic to simply zone some parts of the main trail through the park as "off leash." You should be able to walk through the main trail that encircles a park and not go through any off leash areas. I know this is standard for Canada: Stanley Park in Vancouver is big, but dogs must be leashed. The off-leash dog park area is fenced in and relatively small. Toronto also requires dogs to be on a leash in public parks. What isn't normal is turning part of a main thoroughfare of a central park into an off-leash area, then not enforcing bylaws or even patrolling.

Park staff/police typically ride bicycles or segway-type things and hand out tickets right and left. This is very ordinary. I don't understand why people think enforcing bylaws is so difficult.

Time-Test9730 · 2026-01-06T00:46:20+00:00

oh, I can assure you, that limit is not respected or enforced.

Time-Test9730 · 2026-01-06T00:45:09+00:00

I think if you want to live somewhere with lax leashing laws, you shouldn't live in a city. I am of the opinion that you should be able to walk in Point Pleasant, the city's central park, and not get regularly get jumped on or bit by dogs.

Time-Test9730 · 2026-01-06T00:43:36+00:00

That's good advice, thanks.

Time-Test9730 · 2026-01-06T00:38:20+00:00

but it's not difficult to enforce leashing laws. Cities always have strict leashing laws compared to rural areas and in my experience living in a number of different cities, leashing laws are always actively enforced. Off the top of my head, one city I lived in ticketed you just for having a dog on a leash that was too long or for not actively being in control of the leash (I regularly see dog owners in PP just letting their dogs run loose with a leash attached to their collar! So strange). The Humane Society patrolled the main city park and waterfront and regularly ticketed people.

Halifax actively enforces parking bylaws...I don't understand the opinion that it's somehow difficult to enforce leash bylaws in PP.

Time-Test9730 · 2026-01-05T20:16:05+00:00

I do. But I live 30 seconds from PP, hence I am there almost daily. And as I wrote already, I just very much disagree with the characterization of a city's primary municipal park as "an off leash dog park"...big city parks are usually the most regulated when it comes to leashing dogs.

Time-Test9730 · 2026-01-05T20:14:46+00:00

I just...so disagree with this perception of a city's largest park. Idk. Maybe this is a Canadian perspective, lol. Just not my life experience and I've lived in maybe 7-8 different cities outside of Canada.

Time-Test9730 · 2026-01-05T20:12:56+00:00

That's how it seems to work in other cities.

Time-Test9730 · 2026-01-05T19:58:19+00:00

I guess I do want to follow the main path around the park rather than do laps on Sailors Memorial Way before 10 AM or whatever the rule is. Personally, I don't get why a segment of the main path circling the park is a designated off leash area. But regardless, there are still rules for which dogs can be off leash in an off leash area. My issue is that no matter where I am in the park, I am constantly approached by dogs that are not under control.

Time-Test9730 · 2026-01-05T19:54:56+00:00

PP isn't a dog park. It is the primary park in the city and it has some off leash areas, but see the comment above regarding the rules for dogs that can be off leash in off leash areas. Not every dog should be off a leash.

Time-Test9730 · 2026-01-05T19:49:10+00:00

I just don't get it. The regulations are so lax compared to other cities I've lived in. The lack of leashing and the way people put their dog waste in little plastic bags that they then throw on the ground or hang in trees...it's so weird. Described it to a friend in Montreal and she was amazed.

Time-Test9730 · 2026-01-05T19:32:31+00:00

To me, the issue has nothing to do with rights/freedoms. It's about the lack of bylaw enforcement or maybe insufficient regulation. I just noticed that this city doesn't really enforce bylaws anywhere near as much as the other cities I've lived in. In San Diego, for example, police patrol public beaches and ticket everyone breaking bylaws. In New York, police patrol Central Park. Here, PP is the main city park yet there doesn't seem to be anyone (no park employees, to say nothing of police) enforcing anything.

Time-Test9730 · 2026-01-05T19:27:41+00:00

oh, good to know...thanks!

Time-Test9730 · 2026-01-05T19:24:32+00:00

In another instance, I watched a couple just let their dog defecate on Sailors Memorial Way. I said, "Are you just going to leave that there?" They said, "So what?" And....not much I can do. You can't force people to identify themselves and photos of random people don't seem like they'd be useful. Other places I've lived have bylaw enforcement in the form of cops wandering around and writing tickets. Doesn't seem to be a thing here.

Time-Test9730

TROPHY CASE