Kanata Bear Was Terrified Of People: READER

05/06/2023

Long-time Bulldog reader MM said the Kanata bear was not dangerous last year when it was hanging out at night in his backyard:

At the time of the shooting the only thing in imminent danger from the bear were bird feeders.

I live in Bells Corners and my feeder was one of the first that he visited. I reported this to the Ministry of Natural Resources non-emergency line and they passed this info on to “bear tech.”

Other than a bent pole, which was easily repaired, I started pulling down my feeder every evening. In case you’re wondering, my feeder was not destroyed. He pulled if off the pole and licked it cleaned, but left it in one piece – which is impressive when you think about it.

So Why Was The Kanata Bear Shot?

This bear had also been around Bells Corners most of last summer before leaving for the winter. Sightings would be reported through the neighbourhood social media and everyone was careful. This bear was mostly seen during the early morning and later evening. It was a young bear probably just over two years old and had a yellow tag and when it came face-to-face with someone on the trails, would take off the other way.

I don’t remember anyone on our neighbourhood social media stating they had a dangerous encounter with this bear.

Live traps were set up in two locations to catch this wayward bear.

Now having said all that, this bear could have become a nuisance bear. Trap and relocate it and if it comes back, you have a problem.

Was it necessary for the OPS to kill it in this instance? The memo is clear that it was not, otherwise they would have wrote how dangerous and aggressive the bear was and it was a safety issue.

The memo lacks tons of details. Did the office request any additional information? How many bullets actually hit the bear? Did any miss? Was the area safe prior to the shooting? Did they inform residents to remain indoors? Without that information I think the officer in question, not knowing how to approach a bear, panicked and killed it. If the officers actions were correct, then the memo should defend that decision.

It does not.

I would add a few more points, MM. The city repeatedly lies to the public either through omission or your garden-variety lie.

The police have withheld some information on how officers who acted incorrectly at the Freedom Convoy were reprimanded. The one public bit of information released was a small slap on the wrist of an offending officer.

Frankly, you can’t trust civic authorities to act correctly or tell the truth. And that is a real problem in municipal culture and an extremely difficult one to fix.

Maybe the officers did nothing wrong but I wouldn’t trust their story even if they released the information.

In fact, the police don’t need to release the information. They will say they did nothing wrong … even if they did.

Trail Road Only Has 15 Useful Years Left, Again

Good luck Mayor Mark Sutcliffe in changing 12 years of acculturation during the Watson years. New members of staff (less than 12 years) don’t even know what the right thing to do is.

And if you don’t believe me, ask the former mayor. Oops, sorry he left. Or the city manager. Wrong again, he left. Or the head of the $6.4-billion light-rail project. Damn, he left too.

Ask a senior departmental head … if you can find one.

Ask the provincial light-rail inquiry. Ask the federal investigation into the Freedom Convoy. Ask the former chief of police who said his job was to end racism and misogyny in the OPS. He was driven out. Or you could ask the officers of the force who have adopted the racist “thin-blue line” flag as their symbol.

The police and city staff might tell you what happened, maybe, at least their version. Should you believe them? Doubtful.

They’ve lied about much more important things than the Kanata bear. You think they will tell the truth on one dead frightened animal?