MP Don Davies (NDP - Vancouver Kingsway) introduced Bill C-212 titled An Act to Develop a National School Food Program for Children. The proposed law would empower the federal Minister of Health to consult with provincial governments responsible for health and education, as well as other relevant stakeholders, to develop a school food program across Canada. Any resulting program would make sure the “food is healthy, taking into account Canada’s Food Guide” which was dramatically updated in 2019 and eliminated both “meat” and “dairy” as food groups. Read the text of the bill and its progress here.
Issue 5: December 17, 2021
Spotlights
Legislative Updates
Litigation Updates
Animal Justice to Give Argument on Legal Standing at the Supreme Court of Canada
Animal Justice was granted intervenor status in British Columbia (AG) v Council of Canadians with Disabilities, in which public interest standing is in dispute. As public interest standing has been a barrier to justice in animal rights advocacy (see Reece v Edmonton (City) and Zoocheck v Alberta (Min of Ag)), Animal Justice has submitted arguments highlighting the importance of access to justice and protection of vulnerable groups in the Court's consideration of public interest standing. Read more here.
Marineland Charged for Criminal Code Violations
Following complaints from Last Chance for Animals and Animal Justice in October, Niagara Region Police Service (NRPS) have charged Marineland under s. 445.2(4) of the Criminal Code. The provision criminalizes using captive cetaceans for performance and entertainment purposes without authorization. Marineland’s first court date for these charges is 14 February 2022. Read NRPS’s release here.
Enforcement Updates
Elephant Rides Banned in Canada
Canada’s Accredited Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA) has confirmed that the accreditation body is no longer permitting elephant rides in Canada. The change follows an investigation from 2019 when an elephant named Maggie at Ontario-based African Lion Safari who was being used for rides, attacked and seriously injured a trainer. Although it is believed that African Lion Safari was the only CAZA-accredited facility that offered elephant rides until they stopped after the attack in 2019, the decision affects CAZA’s twenty-eight facilities across Canada. Read more here.
Legislative Updates
Federal Government Introduces Bill to Develop National School Food Program
MP Don Davies (NDP - Vancouver Kingsway) introduced Bill C-212 titled An Act to Develop a National School Food Program for Children. The proposed law would empower the federal Minister of Health to consult with provincial governments responsible for health and education, as well as other relevant stakeholders, to develop a school food program across Canada. Any resulting program would make sure the “food is healthy, taking into account Canada’s Food Guide” which was dramatically updated in 2019 and eliminated both “meat” and “dairy” as food groups. Read the text of the bill and its progress here.
Litigation Updates
Animal Justice to Give Argument on Legal Standing at the Supreme Court of Canada
Animal Justice was granted intervenor status in British Columbia (AG) v Council of Canadians with Disabilities, in which public interest standing is in dispute. As public interest standing has been a barrier to justice in animal rights advocacy (see Reece v Edmonton (City) and Zoocheck v Alberta (Min of Ag)), Animal Justice has submitted arguments highlighting the importance of access to justice and protection of vulnerable groups in the Court's consideration of public interest standing. Read more here.
Marineland Charged for Criminal Code Violations
Following complaints from Last Chance for Animals and Animal Justice in October, Niagara Region Police Service (NRPS) have charged Marineland under s. 445.2(4) of the Criminal Code. The provision criminalizes using captive cetaceans for performance and entertainment purposes without authorization. Marineland’s first court date for these charges is 14 February 2022. Read NRPS’s release here.
Elite Farm Services Ltd. and Sofina Foods Inc. both Fined for Animals Cruelty
Following a Mercy for Animals exposé released in June 2017, British Columbia-based Elite Farm Services Ltd. and Ontario-based Sofina Foods Inc. plead guilty to criminal animal cruelty for their mishandling of chickens in transport. The guilty pleas were entered in September. Now, each company has been sentenced to a $300,000 fine and three years of probation. Read the decision here.
Enforcement Updates
National Farm Animal Care Council Open Public Comment for Update in Dairy Code
The National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) has opened a public comment period for the draft update to the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Dairy Cattle. The comment period is open from November 29th 2021 until January 27th 2022. The final Code of Practice will be released later in 2022. Read the news release here.
Montreal SPCA Seeking to End the Ban on Companion Animals in the City’s Subway System
The Montreal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has launched a petition asking Mayor Valérie Plante and the Société de transport de Montréal to allow dogs on leashes to travel on Montreal’s public transit system. If successful, Montreal would be the first city in Quebec to allow companion dogs on transit. However, lifting the ban would follow similar changes in Toronto and Calgary. See the petition here.
Elephant Rides Banned in Canada
Canada’s Accredited Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA) has confirmed that the accreditation body is no longer permitting elephant rides in Canada. The change follows an investigation from 2019 when an elephant named Maggie at Ontario-based African Lion Safari who was being used for rides, attacked and seriously injured a trainer. Although it is believed that African Lion Safari was the only CAZA-accredited facility that offered elephant rides until they stopped after the attack in 2019, the decision affects CAZA’s twenty-eight facilities across Canada. Read more here.
Ontario Provincial Animal Welfare Service Seize Cows and Calves in Distress
A spokesperson for the Ministry of the Solicitor General Animal Welfare Services reports several dozen cows are in the process of being seized from a farm near Warsaw, east of Peterborough, Ontario. The cows and calves are being seized under Ontario’s PAWS Act for being in distress. Read more here.
Academic Updates
Analysis of R v Chen in The Lawyers Daily
Following the Alberta Court of Appeal’s Decision on November 25th 2021, Sam Skinner, Animal Law Research Associate at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, analyzed the case in The Lawyers Daily. Within the analysis, Sam highlights the Court’s recognition of animal sentience and their victimhood in violent crimes. They also offer words of caution, as the threat of higher sentences for criminal animal cruelty offences may result in a backstep toward more provincial animal welfare convictions. Read the article here.
International Updates
Spain Recognizes Animals as Sentient Beings in Civil Code
Spain’s Congress of Deputies has passed legislation recognizing animals as sentient beings and not objects. Although Spain’s Criminal Code already recognized animal sentience, the new law changes Spain’s Civil Code to ensure animal wellbeing will be taken into account during divorce and separation. Read more here.
Iran Parliament Introduces a Ban on Domesticated Animals
Iran’s conservative leadership has introduced a bill entitled Protection of the Public’s Rights Against Animals which would criminalize the keeping of companion animals, including dogs, cats, snakes, rabbits, and more. Parliamentarians are justifying the bill, claiming domesticated dogs cause nuisances and bodily harm to humans. The bill would impose several punishments, such as animal confiscation, a fine of $900-$2700, a three-month jail term for walking a dog in public, or impoundment of a car if driving with a dog in the car. Read more here.
Other Updates
Animal Justice Calls for Federal Action on Live Horse International Trade
Following a trip to the Winnipeg airport where trucks of horses were trafficked to be transported overseas, Animal Justice has called for the newly re-elected Liberal government to keep their campaign promise to end Canada’s participation in the export of live horses for slaughter. Read more and see the accompanying petition here.
The Canada Edition of the Animal Law Digest is published twice monthly in collaboration with the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.