In the Criminal Code, we find this expression in a number of offences. We have looked at the expression “wilfully and without lawful excuse”. We must also mention that the wording of the offence in this case is based on another offence, the one in section 445. The two are similar. In fact, the offence from section 445.1 would be included in the new offence.
Both use the words “wilfully and without lawful excuse”. Since those two provisions are really similar, the idea is to ensure that one mirrors the other. If we had made a distinction between them, people would have wondered why and what the distinction means. Would we have wanted to ask the court to interpret a difference when we did not want to establish one? In fact, the difference lies in the specificity of the animal in question.