Okay.
Canada's humane transportation regulations were finally updated, after decades of consultation, to require shorter times and better protections. There was also a coming into force period to allow industry to prepare to meet those regulations, so we had hoped that, during this time, infrastructure changes would be made. Animals would travel shorter distances, and any trip delays would still fall within the mandated time frames.
Animal welfare should always be an essential consideration when dealing with the regulations for truckers who transport livestock. If amendments to the ELD regulations are needed to address animal welfare emergencies, then clear guidance is needed on what constituents such an emergency, and it requires more than just industry input.
We don't support amendments that maintain the status quo or address industry ineffectiveness but then impact animal welfare. For example, in a recent Rabble article on this topic, industry experts cited things like erratic working hours, the impacts of warm weather on the loading and unloading of livestock, timetables at slaughterhouses or auction floors, inspections at border crossings, and businesses' opening hours as contributing to erratic schedules. These are not animal welfare emergencies. They may cause animal welfare emergencies, but in and of themselves, they are not animal welfare emergencies. They are rather very much foreseeable circumstances with industry solutions like better planning, shorter distances, more Canadian slaughter facilities, and climate-controlled vehicles.
The onus is on the agricultural sector to structure the industry so that it is not erratic, poorly planned or ineffective, both for animal welfare and human welfare. The agricultural sector should be held to a higher standard than all other transport sectors because its loads are sentient animals experiencing the most stressful moments of their lives.
In closing, we advocate for greater transparency and accountability in the agricultural sector. We've heard here today that there's a data deficiency. Electronic logs could be useful in collecting data that could then identify concerns and inform the enforcement of the health of animals regulations. This data could be shared with the CFIA, which could put resources toward addressing systemic problems.
We support an agricultural system that promotes safe, local production and slaughter and that doesn't rely on hauling animals cross-country multiple times during their short lives. We don't support a system that prioritizes the current supply chain structure over the welfare of hundreds of millions of animals that are raised and slaughtered for food.
Thank you.