VICTORIA -- Horse-drawn carriage operators in Victoria are celebrating after the city council struck down a motion to ban the industry in the region last week.
City councillors denied the ban in a vote of six-to-two last Thursday, which came as welcome news to workers in the controversial industry.
Victoria Carriage Tours general manager Tom Walker said he was pleased to hear the news, which threatened the company with an uncertain future.
“Over the last couple of years we’ve had to put the brakes on as far as doing any planning for the future because we didn’t know where we were going to be,” he said. “All I can say is when we found out the news we were very excited.”
Meanwhile, people who are opposed to the horse-drawn carriage industry say city council’s decision to strike down the motion is not discouraging.
Jordan Reichert, a member of the Victoria Horse Alliance, says the city’s denial of the ban lets the group return to the table with a revised resolution.
“For us it’s actually a renewal, so we’re quite happy that this is the course of action that council has taken,” said Reichert.
“This is not the end of the issue by any means, in fact it’s just a renewal of the issue,” he said. “It’s like hitting the reset button right now because we’re going to be able to bring forward a resolution with much more confidence in the future.”
In the meantime, Walker says that he is happy knowing that his employees are certain they will have work as the 2020 tourism season approaches in Victoria.
