As second reading debates continued in the Senate on March 7th, Senator Dennis Glen Patterson expressed his concerns about Bill S-241, the Jane Goodall Act, sponsored by Senator Marty Klyne. In particular, Senator Patterson questioned the potential impact of a clause that creates an “animal advocate” under section 445.2(1) of the Criminal Code, putting forward various slippery slope arguments about what it could mean to grant rights to animals. Senator Patterson also called for an examination of how the bill encroaches on provincial jurisdiction over animal welfare laws.