Trap houses, vandalism and loose dogs: Residents call for change in North West River, Labrador

Northwest River residents are fed up. They say trap houses, vandalism, and loose dogs have many people fearing for their safety. On Tuesday, they marched across town, including a street that the town shut down on Halloween because of safety concerns. We're here today to demand that action be taken so that our community members can be safe, and so we chose this spot so that we can reclaim collectively, united, and walk these streets, to say we're not going to be scared away from walking these streets anymore. Cooper says nine people have been attacked or chased by dogs on the street since May. Protesters finished their walk at the town hall, where the town council was meeting. But the town of Northwest River says they don't have the resources to deal with the problem. They say they need support from the province. The town council passed a motion to ask for funding for a dog catcher. Okay, motion carries. Cheers. Cheers. Labrador Affairs Minister Leila Evans was at the meeting. She was invited by the town of Northwest River. We've offered to work with the town to, you know, if the route that they want to go on, they seem to indicate that they want to hire a dog catcher. And for us, the government, we should be able to help them get that set up and properly resourced. But protesters say the motion is just a step. Right now, they're just words. A motion is words. We're not going to let them forget this time. We, you know, we want action. We demand change. We need change. Cooper says that she and other residents will meet with town council until they see that change. Stephen Roberts, CBC News, Northwest River.