$500K in extra cash for Montreal's controversial calches

Montreal's calche industry will bereceiving half a million dollars in additional funding from the City of Montreal, just seven months after Mayor Denis Coderre tried to ban the horses and carriages.

• Calche drivers fight to get back on streets as ban goes into effect

The move was approved by the Ville-Marie borough council Tuesday night, during its monthly council meeting.

The plan is intended to improve services for calche operators and regulate the safety of the horses. It proposes spending the money on new carriage shelters, places to tie up the horses, microchips for the animals and proper training for calche operators. Drivers will also have to wear uniforms.

"We want a policy. We want tools to professionalize the industry to improve the quality of life for the horses," Coderre said at Tuesday night's council meeting, after getting several questions from residents on the issue.

He added that it will ensure the horses are treated well until the industry's fate in Montreal is decided.

"The first priority is to respect the horses and make sure they are in conditions that are decent."

Failed Moratorium

In May, Coderre tried to ban calches for one year. His decision was made in the wake of several incidents where horses appeared to be injured on the job.

In Griffintown, a horse was hit by a carin April. In another incident, an image of a horse who appeared to stumble on a metal plate was spread on social media.

• Montreal won't fight to renewcalchemoratorium,Coderresays

The drivers protested the ban, eventually taking their case to court. The moratorium on calches was overturned and carriages were allowed to operate as usual last summer.

At the time, Coderre said the city wouldn't fight to see the moratorium renewed.

"Clearly, the moratorium was not the right decision, and I won't spend the summer battling one injunction after another," he said.

$20,000 per calche?

Montreal's official opposition party, Projet Montreal, said that money might be invested elsewhere, such as public transit.

"Six months ago, the mayor unplugged the industry saying we need to have better information,"said Projet Montreal leader Valrie Plante.

Plante said half a million dollars works out to about $20,000 in public money being spent on each calche.

But acalche driver with more than a decade of experience said the new money won't go into the pockets of drivers, but will instead help regulate the industry.

"When we're talking about $20,000 per carriage, that doesn't pay stable care and vet care care and farrier care and the horses' food and boarding for a whole year," said Dominique Pelletier.

SPCA'horrified'

The Montreal SPCA encouraged the public to go to Tuesday night's borough meeting to voice their opposition to spending more money on calches.

The SPCAhas been lobbying tophase out calchesby reducing the number of permits available and working with the city to find homes for the horses.

"We're horrified and extremely concerned, I think as a lot of members of the public will be. For years, we have been asking that the city put an end to this," said Alanna Devine, Director of Animal Advocacy at the Montreal SPCA.