Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
I'd also like to thank the committee for the opportunity to address Bill S-203, which was first introduced as Bill S-24 by Senator Bryden in February 2005.
I'm here today to represent a national coalition of animal-based communities that provide Canadians with food, clothing, and advances in medical research. Our 16-member coalition recognizes that our use of animals for human benefit is a privilege, and our constituents are committed to ensuring that animals are humanely treated and responsibly used.
We also believe that all animals deserve protection under the law. We have consistently endorsed in principle the effort to modernize the animal cruelty provisions in the Criminal Code, ever since amendments to the law were first proposed in 1998. Our active involvement in this debate has been limited to ensuring that any changes to the law do not threaten the rights or the interests of those who legally use animals in a responsible manner.
As you know, numerous attempts to pass legislative amendments to the animal cruelty provisions have failed. The criticisms raised in the past primarily focused on amendments that were shown to pose serious legal and practical concerns for those Canadians engaged in lawful activities involving animals. Many of those concerns were resolved with each consecutive bill. Some concerns remain, however, and disagreement persists over further changes that would help clarify the intent and the application of a very different law from the one that exists today. As a result, more than eight years have passed, and the legislation remains unchanged.
The purpose of our presentation today is to provide you with our perspective on Bill S-203 and to outline our reasoning for endorsing this bill. The bill proposes three amendments to the current animal cruelty provisions. All are penalty enhancements to the current sentencing provisions and respond to an identified concern with the present law. These enhancements are also identical to those proposed in every bill that has been introduced over the past eight years.
While there remain strong disagreements with other aspects of previous legislative amendments, there is overwhelming agreement among all parties that the low maximum penalties for cruelty are inadequate both to denounce the animal cruelty as unacceptable and to punish deliberate acts of cruelty when they do occur. In this regard, our coalition shares the same view as others who are presenting before you. We have consistently supported the proposed increase in penalties for those who abuse animals. This is in keeping with the view of all concerned Canadians, whether they're pet owners, professional associations, legitimate animal protection agencies, judges, or government.
We endorse Bill S-203 for the following reasons.
First, it broadens the offences for animal cruelty by creating two levels of charges that would apply to all animals and that may be used selectively by prosecutors to better reflect the seriousness of the crime. Second, it increases the sentencing penalties that may be imposed by substantially increasing maximum fines and jail time. It also removes the current limitation on animal possession that can be applied against offenders; this includes lifetime bans for repeat offenders. And the bill includes a new provision that would allow the court to order offenders to pay compensation to agencies or individuals who provide care for the animals involved.
Our coalition is in full agreement with Justice Canada officials who believe this bill is straightforward and a significant improvement to the current law. According to testimony given November 9, 2006, by the senior assistant deputy minister for the Department of Justice to the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs: “The purpose of this bill seems straightforward. It is designed to amend the sections of the Criminal Code of Canada dealing with cruelty to animals to increase the penalties for the offences found there.” He went on to say that the three amendments together constitute a significant improvement to the current law regarding sentencing, one with which all Canadians would agree.
Our coalition also agrees with the Senate and Department of Justice officials that this bill does not preclude the future introduction of further amendments to the Criminal Code by the federal government.
We also concur with their assessment that passage of the bill would immediately address the issue of penalty enhancement, an issue that has been allowed to continue for more than eight years of debate. Given the long history and controversy behind attempted amendments to the law, it is the view of our coalition that incremental improvements are preferred to no improvements at all. Moreover, we believe that poorly written laws are no substitute for inadequacies in the current law.
We recognize that there is opposition to this bill because of what it does not do. It is fair to say that all parties would agree that Bill S-203 is less ambitious than its predecessors; however, based on the evidence at our disposal, I would say some of this opposition is built on a false understanding of the existing provisions. This view is shared by a former Ontario cruelty investigator, as outlined in an additional piece of evidence that the clerk has given to you today.
A common and repeated argument is that the current law does not apply to unowned animals such as stray and wild animals. This is untrue, as our attached evidence shows. Furthermore, this view is not shared by Justice Canada officials, as evidenced in their testimony to the Senate committee. During questioning it was clearly explained that the most frequently charged offence--in paragraph 446(1)(a)--of causing unnecessary pain, suffering, or injury to an animal is not limited to kept or owned animals.
Based on this interpretation, it would appear that the fault lies more in the application of the law than in the law itself. And by this we mean that there is every reason for successful prosecutions against cruelty to wild and stray animals when the proper charge is laid.
A lack of successful prosecutions is another reason that is cited for more expansive amendments than are covered under this bill. However, it should also be acknowledged that many of those cases may not have succeeded not because the courts would not address them, but because of a weakness in the evidence.
Statistics seem to indicate that charges and successful prosecutions are increasing, even under the current law. For example, the Province of Ontario relies more heavily on the Criminal Code than most other provinces that have their own provincial statutes. In 2004, 695 charges were laid by the Ontario SPCA--a record number, according to their annual report, and a sixfold increase over 2000. The OSPCA cites annual conviction rates ranging between 80% and 90%.
In our view, Bill S-203 would assist animal protection agencies by reducing their need to lay charges, since it offers much stronger deterrents plus stronger restrictions against repeat offenders.
In the meantime, sentencing judges across the country are frequently reported in the media as wanting to be able to deliver more severe punishments for the cases that come before them. As recently as March 2007, officials with the Ontario SPCA told the media that penalties for animal cruelty are too lenient and deserve a sober second look. The OSPCA's livestock inspector was quoted as saying, “We would like judges to have the flexibility to impose whatever sentence they feel is appropriate.” This is something that Bill S-203 would do.
The sentencing amendments proposed in the bill would help protect animals by acting as a stronger deterrent to those who would engage in intentional animal cruelty or wilful neglect. They would also provide enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and the courts with significantly enhanced tools to treat such crimes with the seriousness they deserve, and they would remove the current disparity between indictable offences for livestock and lesser summary offences for other types of animals, such as pets.
The Canadian public, when calling for changes to the Criminal Code provisions, have clearly indicated that their highest priority is to increase penalties. The constituents represented through our coalition have also consistently supported the need for legislation that would help to reduce animal cruelty and increase penalties for anyone who abuses animals.
It is our view that Bill S-203 provides the opportunity to deliver a long-awaited and widely demanded improvement to the current law. It is for this reason above all that our coalition endorses this bill.
The coalition appreciates the opportunity to appear once again before this committee and explain our support for a reasonable solution to a long-standing expectation.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.