Bill C-205 (Historical)

An Act to amend the Health of Animals Act

This enactment amends the Health of Animals Act to make it an offence to enter, without lawful authority or excuse, a place in which animals are kept if doing so could result in the exposure of the animals to a disease or toxic substance that is capable of affecting or contaminating them.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Thank you.

My question is for Mr. Mathuik or Ms. Ireland.

Mr. Mathuik or Ms. Ireland, you talked about the requirements and the significant resources it takes to respond quickly. We also talked about partnering with local law enforcement. Can't we simply count on the police to demonstrate that the individuals in question penetrated the area where the animals were kept?

That's my first question. I think it's possible to do that.

You said it would be very difficult to prove the intent of the individuals. However, John Barlow, the sponsor of Bill C-205, told us such proof would not be necessary, as he understood the bill. He indicated that the individuals could be penalized simply for trespassing.

That brings me to my questions.

What is the real story?

If the offence is very difficult to prove, what changes need to be made to the bill?

The committee has the power to propose amendments to the bill. What changes would you suggest we make to lower the burden of proof?

[Dave Epp, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON]

Thank you.

It seems, from the way you answered, that the number of charges does act as a deterrent to bad behaviour. That is the intent, as I understand it, of this bill as well.

Can you talk about farm biosecurity standards? My understanding is that on their own they don't carry the force of law. Would the passage of Bill C-205 not provide the force of law to trespassing with the potential of breaching farm biosecurity standards?

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Finally, Bill C-205 makes reference to an enclosed place or building in which animals are kept. There's been some talk about what would happen if protesters entered a farm but did not enter the building.

Are there problems, when you try to do your investigations, concerning whether the protesters came anywhere close to animals in order to possibly transfer a disease?

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

If Bill C-205 were to become law, is there any other agency that can be tasked with enforcing the Health of Animals Act, or does it always have to be the CFIA?

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

I understand what you are saying, but my question had more to do with activists who go from farm to farm.

I'm from an agricultural community and I know that, while activists don't stay long on a farm, they don't have to have prolonged contact in order to spread certain diseases.

Lastly, does the agency have sufficient resources to oversee the biosecurity component set out in Bill C-205?

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses for being here this afternoon. CFIA plays a very important role in protecting animal health.

My question is for whomever would like to answer. It's about biosecurity. You said you work with various organizations and farmers associations to develop biosecurity standards. When people trespass on a property, regardless of how they penetrate the premises or where they come from, there is a risk of contamination. Farmers have to change their clothes and even shower when they enter and exit the building.

Is biosecurity very important in the context of Bill C-205?

[Dr. Jaspinder Komal, Vice-President, Science Branch, Chief Veterinary Officer and World Organisation for Animal Health Delegate for Canada, Canadian Food Inspection Agency]

Good day, Mr. Chair.

My name is Dr. Jaspinder Komal and I am Canada’s chief veterinary officer and the vice-president of science at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. With me today is Dr. Mary Jane Ireland, who serves as the executive director of animal health, and Mr. Kelvin Mathuik, director general of our operations in the western area.

We are pleased to lend our expertise to assist you in your consideration of private members’ Bill C-205, an act to amend the Health of Animals Act.

The CFIA is a science-based regulatory agency, and its broad mandate encompasses animal health, plant health, food safety, and international market access. The proposed bill contains elements that greatly impact how the CFIA currently delivers on its mandated activities due to the bill's proposed changes to the Health of Animals Act.

The CFIA has programs in place that are designed to protect animal health and support biosecurity. In a nutshell, CFIA’s animal health program protects Canada’s animals from disease, including aquatic animals; manages animal disease events; promotes and regulates certain aspects of animal welfare; verifies that animal feeds and vaccines are safe, effective and of high quality; collaborates to develop voluntary biosecurity standards; and facilitates trade and market access for Canadian animals and products.

The CFIA administers and enforces the Health of Animals Act and regulations, which address diseases and biological, chemical, or physical agents that may affect animals or be transmitted by animals to persons and, in the same vein, to protect animals from these risks. The CFIA takes the lead in responding to reportable diseases, such as avian influenza, African swine fever, and Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE.

There is also the issue of biosecurity, which is a foundational piece in the proposed legislation. The CFIA has a long history of working closely with industry and producer organizations, provincial and territorial authorities, academia, and consulting with international partners to support biosecurity for the regulated parties we inspect.

Under the Health of Animals Act, in the course of their work, CFIA inspectors and officers may require that animals be presented for inspection, require documents be produced, conduct tests or analysis, as well as enter a dwelling place with a warrant, among other authorities officially granted.

However, CFIA inspectors and officers are public officers. They're not peace officers. Public officers are defined as any officer engaged in enforcing the laws of Canada relating to revenue, customs, excise, trade or navigation. Their powers stem from the acts and regulations they enforce—in this case, the Health of Animals Act—and they are given limited additional powers under the Criminal Code. In contrast, peace officers are generally police officers. Their powers include the ability to detain or arrest individuals. Peace officers may also be armed, whereas public officers such as inspectors may not be.

I would also like to point to the fact that existing legislation already clearly defines and deals with issues related to private property, and its enforcement largely rests with provincial authorities, including peace officers. There are also existing federal provisions under the Criminal Code that deal with trespassing, as well as specific prohibitions on animal cruelty and abuse. What Bill C-205 proposes represents a significant shift from what the CFIA has been mandated to do, and therefore would require an investment of additional inspection resources, further training, and increased legal authorities to assume these additional responsibilities. Given the combination of Criminal Code provisions, provincial trespass and animal health legislation and producers’ commitment to on-farm biosecurity that already exist, the proposed amendments would provide limited additional protection to farmers and producers.

However, I feel I can only speak to my expertise in animal health, especially as it pertains to CFIA’s mandate and activities. I trust that this testimony can help inform your study of this proposed legislation, and I am very happy to be back at this table, Mr. Chair.

Thank you.

[Lyne Bessette, Liberal, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'll be splitting my time with Mr. Blois.

Mr. Barlow, I'm going to continue in the same vein as Mr. Longfield. Do you anticipate any legal challenges from the provinces, since Bill C-205 interacts with provincial trespassing legislation?

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Good afternoon, Mr. Barlow. Thank you for being here today.

I have a fairly straightforward question for you.

Bill C-205 is quite significant. My riding is home to a lot of hog farmers, so protecting biosecurity is certainly very important to them. It's one of the worries farmers have, worries that can easily lead to mental health problems.

Mr. Barlow, talk, if you would, about the bill's deterrent effect. When it comes to break-ins, are the fines stiff enough to deter would-be perpetrators?

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Barlow, it's wonderful to see you back here. What a pleasure to have you with us. The committee members all recognize what Bill C-205 aims to do. I, too, had the opportunity to speak in the House to ensure the committee had a chance to study this important piece of legislation.

I'm going to continue along the same lines as Mr. Blois.

When you say the current legislation is not adequately enforced, two things come to mind. Does the bill have a provision to ensure charges are actually laid? I am thinking of someone who isn't really aware of the biosecurity hazards and therefore cannot plead innocence.

Could you comment on that?

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. It's great to be back here with some friends. I'm certainly looking forward to the discussion today. It really is an honour for me to be in front of the standing committee on agriculture and agri-food to discuss my private member's bill, Bill C-205, an act to amend the Health of Animals Act.

Mr. Chair, Bill C-205 proposes to amend the Health of Animals Act to make it an offence to enter without lawful authority or excuse a place in which animals are kept, if doing so could result in the exposure of animals to disease or a toxic substance capable of affecting or contaminating them. Simply put, this enactment would apply existing penalties within the act to people who trespass on farm property at facilities where animals are kept. It also proposes to double existing fine amounts for groups and organizations that encourage unlawful behaviour, which put the biosecurity of our farms and food supply at risk.

The new offence, titled “Exposure of animals to disease or toxic substance” would be inserted after section 9 of the act under “Prohibitions”, the heading within the “Control of Diseases and Toxic Substances” portion of the act. Existing penalties within the act are found in section 65 under “General offence”. Bill C-205 would apply those penalties to the new offence. The bill would also add subsection 1.2, which, as was mentioned previously, would double existing fine amounts for groups and organizations that encourage unlawful behaviour that puts the biosecurity of our farms and our food supply at risk.

Two key principles were considered when I was drafting this bill. First, I wanted to work within the existing legislation to enhance what was already there and to ensure that the penalty would be a deterrent for unwanted behaviour. Second, I wanted to develop legislation to deal with one specific incident. Rather than the bill, it should have the capacity to address the big-picture challenges associated with trespassing incidents across the country.

Mr. Chair, I also want to be very clear about what this bill does not do.

This bill does not limit individual rights to peaceful protest on public property. This bill also does not prevent whistle-blowers from coming forward when they witness practices that jeopardize food security or the welfare of animals. In fact, farmers and their employees are obligated to report any wrongdoing to the appropriate authorities, as they operate in a highly regulated environment. They must also follow strict rules and codes of conduct to ensure the health, safety and welfare of our farm animals.

Mr. Chair, I certainly know the members of this committee, and they are well aware that there have been numerous protests by animal activists on farms and at processing plants. The situation is not limited to a specific segment of animal agriculture or to a certain part of this country. Members from all parties recounted the situations in their ridings when this bill was debated in the House at second reading. I won't revisit all of those stories today. Instead, I'd like to touch on one aspect of the bill that has no clause for this committee to consider, but will perhaps have the most impact on farmers and ranchers if this bill does become law.

It's a subject matter this committee knows well, and that is mental health in agriculture. It is fitting to discuss this, given that this week is indeed mental health week in Canada.

The idea for this bill came to me as a result of an incident within my riding at a turkey farm near Fort Macleod. I went to visit the Tschetter family after they had about 30 protesters on their farm.

The Tschetter family came up to check the turkey barns at 7 in the morning, as they always do, and were shocked to find about 35 or 40 protesters who had camped out in their barns. When I spoke to Mr. Tschetter and his son, he just couldn't understand why they were targeted and what they had done.

This was a devastating incident for their family, but also for farmers across my riding and across the country who phoned and emailed me—and maybe many other members of this committee. They're concerned. Is this open season on farmers and ranchers? Is this something that we have to endure? Why are they being targeted?

This committee will recall that in its 2019 report titled “Mental health: a priority for our farmers”, you heard testimony from witnesses about farmers being the victims of stigmatization at the hands of activists. For the benefit of people listening and those who have not read the committee's report, I'd like to quote part 3 of that report:

Today, farmers, ranchers and producers come under attack from many different sources. As one witness put it: “Our ancestors only had to worry about weather and prices. Today, we farmers have the added worry of being a target of an extreme activist, something that takes a serious toll on me mentally. ”

Committee members heard extremely disturbing testimony from witnesses relating to how they had been verbally assaulted, threatened and called murderers or rapists over social media channels by environmental terrorists and animal rights extremists. Such social media attacks are not tolerated in most urban setting or among teenagers, yet little has been done to curb these attacks targeted at farmers.

Who do these animal rights activists target? Of course, the first ones in their sight are the producers. As well as being called polluters, today they are accused of being aggressors and rapists, because of artificial insemination, and child kidnappers and killers.

You know, those words have extremely serious consequences. As one farmer told me, when he gets up in the morning and sees that type of thing on Facebook, he's already wondering how he's going to cope. It adds a lot of stress and distress.

Such testimony is troubling and deeply disturbing. Sadly, it is quite common to see many instances of bullying and intimidation towards farmers go unpunished. This section of the report led to the following recommendation from this committee:

Recommendation 4: That the Federal government should take any and all measures necessary to prevent these unprovoked attacks as well as to make sure individuals who perpetrate them face justice.

Bill C-205 speaks directly to that recommendation. Imagine waking up and knowing that your farm is the target of some of these individuals and groups, but not knowing if or when they'll show up at your home or your farm, what they have planned for the animals in your care, or what they may do to your property, your employees or your family. Though my bill may not prevent unprovoked attacks on social media, it certainly aims to deter groups and organizations who encourage others to bring this type of aggression onto the doorsteps of farm families and unlawfully trespass onto farm property where animals are kept.

I hope members of this committee can see the importance and urgency of this bill and what it would mean for our farmers, our ranchers and our producers, and especially for farm families like the Tschetters who, unfortunately, have been on the receiving end of this misguided activism. I would encourage this committee to listen to our hard-working families and support Bill C-205.

Mr. Chair, I'm certainly happy to answer any questions from the members of the committee. We'll certainly be talking about many other aspects of this bill, but I really thought it was important, considering this is mental health week, to focus on the mental health side of what is being proposed with Bill C-205.

Thank you very much for your time. I look forward to your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

I call this meeting to order.

Welcome to meeting number 31 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.

Pursuant to the order of reference of Wednesday, March 10 and the motion adopted by the committee on April 15, the committee is beginning its study of Bill C-205, an act to amend the Health of Animals Act.

Today's meeting is taking part in a hybrid format pursuant to the House order of January 25. Therefore, members can attend in person in the room and remotely using the Zoom application. The proceedings will be made available via the House of Commons website. Just so that you are aware, the webcast will show the person speaking rather than the entirety of the committee.

I'd like to take the opportunity to remind all participants in this meeting that screenshots or taking a photo of your screen is not permitted.

To ensure an orderly meeting, I would like to outline a few rules to follow.

Before speaking, please wait until I recognize you by name. If you are on the video conference, please click on the microphone icon to unmute your mike. For those in the room, your microphone will be controlled as normal by the proceedings and verification officer.

Just a reminder that all comments by members and witnesses should be addressed through the chair. When you are not speaking, your mike should be on mute.

Before we get going, I'd like to remind members that amendments to Bill C-206 must be sent to the clerk by Friday, May 7—tomorrow—at 5 p.m. eastern time.

Now I'd like to welcome the witness, who has seven and a half minutes for his opening statement. I'd like to welcome John Barlow, the member of Parliament for Foothills.

Mr. Barlow, you have the floor for seven and a half minutes. Go ahead.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Thank you, Mr. MacGregor, and thank you, Mr. Ammeter.

This concludes our second panel.

I really want to thank the Canadian Canola Growers Association—Mr. Mike Ammeter and also Mr. Dave Carey—for being here today.

Also Mr. Kelly from Dowler-Karn Limited, thanks for coming in today to share your thoughts on our study.

That will conclude this. I'd like the members to stick around for a few minutes so we can finish a few items of business.

We'll start with Bill C-206. The officials have been invited. They've agreed to do one opening statement for all of them—not each. We have three departments. We have agriculture, environment and I believe we have finance as the third one. They'll have one opening statement and then we can go into the questioning rounds after that.

Hopefully that's agreeable to everyone. I don't know if there are any issues with that. If not, we'll adopt that model. I don't see any opposition.

The next thing we have to do is approve the press release.

I think you've all received a copy of the press release from the processing capacity report. If it's okay with everyone, we'll approve that and we'll release it as soon as we have a tabled report. Are there any comments on the press release? Is it all good with everyone?

Okay, I don't see any comments, so I think we're all good with that.

Finally, we have to approve the budget for Bill C-205. I believe everyone has received a copy of the budget. It's pretty standard practice. The total is $3,350 for that budget. I don't know if we need a motion, but we need consensus to approve the budget.

Are we all okay with the budget? Just show your thumb or wave your hand....

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Welcome, everyone, to meeting 28 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.

Pursuant to the order of reference of Wednesday, February 24, 2021, and the motion adopted by the committee on March 9, 2021, the committee is resuming its study of Bill C-206, an act to amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, regarding qualifying farming fuel.

Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format, pursuant to the House order of January 25, 2021. Therefore, members are attending in person in the room and remotely using the Zoom application.

The proceedings will be made available via the House of Commons website. The webcast will always show the person speaking rather than the entirety of the committee.

I'd like to take this opportunity to remind all participants to this meeting that screenshots or taking photos of your screen are not permitted.

To ensure this meeting runs smoothly, I would like to share some rules with you.

Before you speak, please wait for me to recognize you. If you are participating via video conference, click on the microphone to unmute it. The microphones of participants in the room will, as usual, be monitored by the proceedings and verification officer.

I remind you that all comments from members and witnesses should be directed to the chair. When you do not have the floor, please mute your microphone.

Before welcoming our witnesses, I'd like to ask the members to remain in the meeting once the second panel is over. We'll go over the press release for the processing capacity report and approve the budget for the study of Bill C-205. This will only take a couple of minutes.

Now I'd like to welcome our witnesses. We have today, for our first panel, from the Canadian Horticultural Council, Aaron Coristine, chair of the energy, environment and climate change working group; and Linda Delli Santi, chair of the greenhouse vegetable working group. From the National Farmers Union, we have Katie Ward, president and farmer.

With that, we'll start our question panel. With the first panel, we have six minutes each, and we'll start with Ms. Rood for six minutes.

I jumped over the opening statements. I'm sorry about that. Let's go back to the Canadian Horticultural Council and whoever wants to take the opening statement for five minutes.

Health of Animals Act

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Pursuant to order made on Monday, January 25, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at second reading stage of Bill C-205, under Private Members' Business.