Mr. Speaker, I want to indicate at the outset that the Progressive Conservative Party supports many elements of the bill, particularly those which put in place a more severe sentencing scheme and raise the bar as far as prosecution of those who deliberately choose to abuse animals is concerned, but the problem, as has been pointed out by previous speakers and throughout the debate, is that it takes the animal sections out of the property sections of the criminal code, thus removing some of the protections for the very legitimate and commonly accepted practices for animal husbandry and for scientific experiments.
My question directly to the Minister of Justice is: What assurances are there for those involved in scientific experimentation with animals, those in the fishing and agriculture communities, the dairy farmers, the fur industry, those who are currently afforded these protections of colour of right excuse and justification?
Is it not fair to say that all the objectives with respect to the prosecution and the deterrence elements of the legislation, and it is uncommon for the Liberal government to put emphasis on deterrence, could be achieved by leaving the property section intact and giving those protections to those individuals who are not the target of the bill?