No calches on Montreal streets this summer, Mayor Denis Coderre says

There will be no calches on the streets of Old Montreal this summer.

Mayor Denis Coderre announced during an executive committee meeting Wednesday that there will be a moratorium on the practice for a year in order to re-evaluate the dossier.

The ban begins next Tuesday.

• After anothercalcheaccident, activists renew call to ban them

"I'm not all satisfied with the way things have been going with calches. The best option is to start from scratch," Coderre said.

The mayor said he wanted the horses to return in a year, but with tighter rules and more professional standards.

The announcement follows growing calls for a ban on the industry,spurred by a number of incidents involving the horses.

Last month, arunaway horsepullingan empty carriagerolled onto a carat the corner of Peel and Wellington streets.

No calches this summer, Montreal mayor says

8 years ago

Duration 2:06

Denis Coderre puts year-long moratorium on horse-drawn carriages, pending review

Will it be permanent?

Animal rights activists have been calling for years for a ban on calches, saying it's cruel to make horses work long hours in difficult conditions, including intense heat and traffic.

"You just have to know horses, understand horses and know that they don't belong in the city, particularly down where there are so many cars and so much pollution,"saidAnneStreeter, a longtime opponent ofcalches.

Streeter,who founded a group calledActionAnti-Calchein 1989,said she was surprised and pleased when she heard about the moratoriumon Wednesday.

"I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will be permanent," said Streeter.

The MontrealSPCA, which has called the calche industry "antiquated, inhumaneand unsafe," said it would help drivers place their horses in new homes as an alternative to putting them down.

Workers, horses in limbo

Dominique Pelletier, who has been working as acalche driver for morethan a decade, said an entire industry would suffer and many peoplewould lose their jobs because of the moratorium.

Pelletier recently completed a master's thesis at Concordia Universityabout the industry. She said most ownersdo theirbest to care for their horses.

"What I think is not fair is that a lot of people are doing their jobsthe right way," she said.

"This is going to be very problematic for them. For a lot of people, itis the way they earn their living."

Calchedrivers who have already been issued permits for this year will bereimbursed.

Calche driver Moise Cohen said he was unhappy with the "suddenness" of the move. He said at the very least, he and his colleagues should have been warned before the year started of the city's intention to shut down their industry.

"Taking away [our] right to win our livelihood, it kind of shocks me," he said.

He added that he only turns a profit in the summer. The rest of the year, he's losingmoney.

Andr St-Amand, 55, has been a calchedriver since he was 14yearsold. His horse, Duc, is 15.

"What are we going to do with the horse?" St-Amand said. "And I'm unemployed as of Tuesday."

St-Amand said it would make more sense for the city to announce a ban starting in October, so at least the drivers can earn a living through their busyseason.

He worries he'll be pushed into minimum-wage work after the ban.

St-Amand estimates it will cost him $400 per month to keep his horse during the ban,and he won't have any revenue.

String of controversies

Last summer, a photo of a horse that had slipped on a metal plate renewed debate about whether the practice still belongs in Montreal.

The horses were also pulled off the streets temporarilyduringa heat wave.

Projet Montral has been calling for a public consultation on the future of the calche industry.

• Stricter rules needed to protect calche horses, Projet Montral says
• Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre calls for report on health of caleche horses

The mayor of New York City tried to have its horse-drawn carriages restricted to Central Park, but the initiativefailed earlier this year.

In March, activists inVictoria, B.C. launched anonline petitionto ban the practice in that city.

What tourists say

New York tourist Johann Diermann worries about the animals.

"Usually we erron the side of human needs and what we want," Diermann said."I would like to erron the side of the animals."

Anita Michel is visiting from Germany.

"When we were in Vienna, we took one, and it was very pleasant," Michel said. "It was a possibility to see the street very slowly. I enjoyed it, I must admit it."