The Commons approved Second Reading of a private Conservative bill that proposes penalties for animal rights protesters who trespass on farm property, including potential imprisonment. .According to Blacklock’s Reporter, a similar bill previously lapsed in the last Parliament..“There have been numerous actions of protesters on farms,” Conservative MP John Barlow (Foothills, AB), sponsor of the bill, said in Commons debate. .“It is becoming more and more daring and reckless. Only two months ago, an animal rights activist group hung three dead pigs from an overpass in Montréal.”.Bill C-275 An Act to Amend the Health of Animals Act states no person without permission or valid excuse may “enter a building or other enclosed place in which animals are kept” under threat of a $250,000 fine and two years in jail. Animal rights groups that organize farm protests would be subject to a $500,000 fine..“This adds a very significant fine to those organizations that encourage this type of behaviour because there is no question those organizations that, up to this point, are very unlikely to be held accountable are fundraising off these actions,” said Barlow. .“They are videotaping these trespassers and these protesters coming on farms and fundraising off it.”.The Commons gave Second Reading to the bill by a vote of 313 to 3. Dissenters were Green MPs Elizabeth May (Saanich-Gulf Islands, BC) and Mike Morrice (Kitchener Centre, ON) and Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith (Beaches-East York, ON)..A similar bill, C-205, successfully passed Second Reading and received the support of the Commons Agriculture committee in 2021. The bill lapsed and did not progress further due to the general election..“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,” said Barlow..“This bill does not in any way disallow protesters from protesting on public property about the issues they are passionate about and that are important to them. They can hold those rallies and protests outside the farm gate. But there has to be a line in the sand. When they cross that line into private property and put the health of animals at risk and the mental health of our farm families at risk, there has to be a line there.”.Proposals to jail animal rights activists have received endorsements from trade groups, such as the Chicken Farmers of Canada..“They are here, they are loud,” Nick de Graaf, then-vice chair of the Chicken Farmers, testified at 2021 Agriculture committee hearings..“They’re right in front of you at the driveway. First is, what’s happening here? Why are these people ignoring the signs? Most people obey signs.”.In 2019, the Commons Agriculture committee recommended Parliament consider using the hate crime provisions of the Criminal Code to legally go after activists who specifically target farmers. .This recommendation came in response to the nationwide broadcast of abusive practices, which had been recorded by the organization Mercy For Animals..In 2018, CTV National News aired birds at a poultry farm in Abbotsford, BC, subjected to inhumane conditions, including “left to drown in their own excrement or die of thirst or starvation.” As a result of the video, the British Columbia Egg Marketing Board took action and revoked the farm's license..In 2017, CTV News showed a video of employees at BC’s Chilliwack Cattle Sales Ltd. engaging in acts of violence towards cows, including punching, beating, and kicking them. As a result, six staff members pleaded guilty to breaching the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, with three of them being sentenced to jail.
The Commons approved Second Reading of a private Conservative bill that proposes penalties for animal rights protesters who trespass on farm property, including potential imprisonment. .According to Blacklock’s Reporter, a similar bill previously lapsed in the last Parliament..“There have been numerous actions of protesters on farms,” Conservative MP John Barlow (Foothills, AB), sponsor of the bill, said in Commons debate. .“It is becoming more and more daring and reckless. Only two months ago, an animal rights activist group hung three dead pigs from an overpass in Montréal.”.Bill C-275 An Act to Amend the Health of Animals Act states no person without permission or valid excuse may “enter a building or other enclosed place in which animals are kept” under threat of a $250,000 fine and two years in jail. Animal rights groups that organize farm protests would be subject to a $500,000 fine..“This adds a very significant fine to those organizations that encourage this type of behaviour because there is no question those organizations that, up to this point, are very unlikely to be held accountable are fundraising off these actions,” said Barlow. .“They are videotaping these trespassers and these protesters coming on farms and fundraising off it.”.The Commons gave Second Reading to the bill by a vote of 313 to 3. Dissenters were Green MPs Elizabeth May (Saanich-Gulf Islands, BC) and Mike Morrice (Kitchener Centre, ON) and Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith (Beaches-East York, ON)..A similar bill, C-205, successfully passed Second Reading and received the support of the Commons Agriculture committee in 2021. The bill lapsed and did not progress further due to the general election..“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,” said Barlow..“This bill does not in any way disallow protesters from protesting on public property about the issues they are passionate about and that are important to them. They can hold those rallies and protests outside the farm gate. But there has to be a line in the sand. When they cross that line into private property and put the health of animals at risk and the mental health of our farm families at risk, there has to be a line there.”.Proposals to jail animal rights activists have received endorsements from trade groups, such as the Chicken Farmers of Canada..“They are here, they are loud,” Nick de Graaf, then-vice chair of the Chicken Farmers, testified at 2021 Agriculture committee hearings..“They’re right in front of you at the driveway. First is, what’s happening here? Why are these people ignoring the signs? Most people obey signs.”.In 2019, the Commons Agriculture committee recommended Parliament consider using the hate crime provisions of the Criminal Code to legally go after activists who specifically target farmers. .This recommendation came in response to the nationwide broadcast of abusive practices, which had been recorded by the organization Mercy For Animals..In 2018, CTV National News aired birds at a poultry farm in Abbotsford, BC, subjected to inhumane conditions, including “left to drown in their own excrement or die of thirst or starvation.” As a result of the video, the British Columbia Egg Marketing Board took action and revoked the farm's license..In 2017, CTV News showed a video of employees at BC’s Chilliwack Cattle Sales Ltd. engaging in acts of violence towards cows, including punching, beating, and kicking them. As a result, six staff members pleaded guilty to breaching the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, with three of them being sentenced to jail.
