Have you seen the Town's recent post regarding the Animal Services report?

Summary:

·         The "Justice for Heiniu" tragedy is a direct test of East Gwillimbury’s transparency, and the Town is failing by passing the buck to Aurora.

·         An independent review proved Aurora’s Animal Services is dangerously under-resourced, with only two officers covering three towns (161,000+ residents) on the day of the incident.

·         Instead of answering hard questions about our service agreement and residents' concerns, East Gwillimbury chose to silence the public by limiting comments on their Facebook post.

·         East Gwillimbury must stop relying on a broken third-party system, take ownership of its own animal services, and hold proper public consultations to ensure this never happens again.

The "Justice for Heiniu" campaign isn't just about animal welfare—it is a direct test of our local government's transparency and accountability. Animal services impact every single resident in East Gwillimbury, whether you own a pet or not. From public safety and wildlife management to lost pets and community well-being, this affects all of us. Right now, the Town's approach is falling short.

When residents ask for answers, we shouldn't deflect by saying, “The Town of Aurora provides Animal Services to East Gwillimbury.” We must take full ownership of the services our taxpayers rely on, even when they are delivered through a third-party provider.

The independent review itself reveals exactly why we cannot simply rely on Aurora. It confirms that Aurora’s Animal Services Division is stretched across Aurora, East Gwillimbury, and Georgina—a massive 583-square-kilometer area with over 161,000 residents. The most shocking finding? On the day of the incident, there were only two full-time officers available to cover that entire tri-town area.

Knowing this, East Gwillimbury issued a statement saying staff will simply review the report and "follow up" on Aurora’s action plan. But follow up with whom? Our own residents? The campaign organizers? The owner? Or just Town of Aurora staff?

Why are we simply taking Aurora's word for it and waiting on their action plan? Where is our action plan for our animal services and our taxpayers?

Did we pay for this report as part of our service agreement with the Town of Aurora? Were our residents' concerns, the owner, and the campaign organizers even considered in it? What is the next step for our Town regarding this animal services failure?

In fact, it is the explicit opinion of the Review that the Town of Aurora should undertake a:

"Comprehensive assessment of its Animal Services organizational structure, staffing model, supervisory capacity, operational deployment, and emergency support resources to ensure that service delivery expectations across Aurora, East Gwillimbury, and Georgina can be safely and effectively maintained while reducing organizational risk and improving preparedness for future critical incidents."

Relying on Aurora's Animal Services is simply not suitable or reliable for our town anymore. Providing clarification and answering these questions are the real measures of our transparency.

Instead of hearing residents' concerns and answering them, the Town chose not to listen. Why did the Town limit public comments on their Facebook post? They might not welcome the comments, but our residents deserve to be heard.

Silencing the public is the opposite of accountability. True transparency happens when you listen to concerns and address them. The report explicitly states the need to evaluate staffing and operational deployment across this massive service area.

Given that this incident happened right here in our town, and considering the report's findings, there is no question in my mind that we must review our own animal services to determine what is genuinely best for our town, with proper public consultation.

Since the Town has limited comments on their post, I want to hear from you here. What are your expectations for how East Gwillimbury should handle this incident and our animal services moving forward? Let me know below.

Please share this post and discuss it with your neighbors to help build strong community advocacy. In East Gwillimbury, you elect two Ward 2 Councillors, giving you the power to shape our community's future. Make Shahab Aryan your absolute first choice to bring independent, engineered leadership to Town Council.