Mr. Speaker, Canadian activism on the issue of animal welfare could detract from the pursuit of these clear Canadian priorities, keeping in mind that the process of lobbying for support and negotiating texts at the United Nations can be a lengthy and energy consuming process.
For these reasons, the government prefers to see the important issue of animal welfare addressed by international institutions other than the United Nations and not be diminished in their importance, institutions which are already focused on this issue and have made valuable progress on this issue already.
The primary such institution is the World Organisation for Animal Health, of which Canada is an active and founding member. In this capacity, Canada already actively works to coordinate its activities with those of the international community, including through the development and implementation of international standards.
It is appropriate for Canada to continue its approach on animal welfare issues through this existing framework, rather than proposing a new mandated area of responsibility for the United Nations. This is not our role in the international community of member nations.
The government believes strongly that the World Organisation for Animal Health should continue to be the primary established international body for developing and improving science-based animal welfare standards.
The government supports the principle and general spirit of the motion and recognizes the laudable goals of a universal declaration on animal welfare. However, government support of this motion must be on condition that reference to the United Nations be removed as this issue is best dealt with by an existing organization responsible for animal welfare issues, the World Organisation for Animal Health.
Furthermore, I have to raise the important fact that any universal declaration on animal welfare could potentially carry long-term consequences, which we are not today in a position to predict. Because there is at present no accepted international text for such a declaration, such a text must first be negotiated by the appropriate international body. The final document could conceivably include provisions that the current proponents would never have intended, or they could include provisions that would be contrary to the national interests of Canada and the well-being of Canadians.
It would be unwise for Canada to commit itself to adopting a certain document under international negotiation before being fully able to assess that document's implications on domestic law. For that reason, the government could only support this motion if it were made clear that we support the underlying principle, but that we maintain the flexibility to be able to judge the final document based on its content rather than on its spirit.
This position is consistent with our government's approach to this issue in 2007, when we supported, in principle, the development of a universal declaration on animal welfare at the World Organisation for Animal Health. We continue to support this goal.
I therefore move that Motion No. 354 be amended as follows:
That, the words “at the United Nations as well as” be removed, that the words “and adoption” be removed, and that the words “in principle” be inserted in its place.
The motion would then read as follows:
That, in the opinion of the House, the government should support, in principle, the development of a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare at all relevant international organizations and forums.