ANIMAL WELFARE
Janice has long championed the welfare of animals in our community. An active current appointee to the Niagara Falls Humane Society Board, Janice was part of the initiative to become a No Kill Shelter. "No Kill" refers to ending the practice of euthanizing simply because of lack of space. Janice has supported and applauded the efforts of the staff and community volunteers who established this Region’s first (and possibly province’s first) mall-based cat adoption centre – one of the many components of becoming a No Kill community.
Since becoming the Region’s first No-Kill shelter, the NFHS has been struggling, financially and to find homes for the scores of animals that arrive on its doorstep each month. One of the short-term goals toward which the Society is striving is a spay-neuter facility to help stem the endless tide of unwanted animals. Controlling the number of litters being born will, in the future, mean fewer surrendered cats, fewer feral cats, less suffering, and fewer opportunities for disease to spread.
Janice enthusiastically embraced the idea of opening a Spay-Neuter Clinic at the shelter, and was active in raising the funds for this facility, which is slated to open later this year. Janice explains:
”The real solution to the problem of unwanted animals is to reduce the numbers by spaying and neutering as many animals as possible. A spay-neuter facility will help gradually reduce the numbers of unwanted cats in the community (and our associated sheltering costs, including medical supplies and incineration expenses). In the short term, it will help address our ongoing financial challenges by allowing us to dramatically reduce our veterinary and travel costs, and free up staff to perform other critical work.”
Several years ago, Janice chaired the City of Niagara Falls Ad-hoc Committee on Animal Population Control. The Committee’s ground-breaking work allowed this community to become a model for other municipalities struggling to address growing demands for urban chicken-keeping as part of the local food movement and as a response to food origin and food security concerns.
Janice had originally asked Council to establish the committee to allow her to find a means of preventing puppy mills from being established here. Its mandate was expanded to include chicken keeping (and eventually rabbit keeping) in response to other community concerns. The Committee built consensus between opposing sides and formulated solutions which were accepted by all and applauded by other Council members.
Other areas in which Janice has played leadership roles in recent years include …
Environment |Transportation | Animal Welfare | Heritage | Helping Local Business| Protecting Seniors | 
