Justice Minister Mark Furey says the new legislation will ensure people are not denied service.
“They’ll be issued a government ID for both the owner and the dog and they will be able to access restaurants and accomodations where in the past they have sometimes been denied.”
Service dogs are used to provide support to people with mobility issues, PTSD, autism, blindness, and seizures and can be trained to assist with day to day activities or even respond to medical issues.
The act establishes a registrar to oversee the application, certification, and identification of service dog teams and outlines penalties for denying rights service dog users.
That will cut down on confusion, says Furey.
“It gives the business community some clarity and confidence in an established process.”
Furey says the service dog certification will help stop people from falsifying guide dogs credentials.
There will now be penalties for falsely claiming a service dog and for those who refuse service to people with legitimate service dogs.
