Mr. Speaker, with regard to part (a) of the question, the safe food for Canadians regulations, or SFCR, came into force in 2019 and outline animal welfare requirements. Prior to the SFCR, the meat inspection regulations,1990, or MIR, which were repealed when the SFCR came into force, provided the requirements for the humane treatment of animals, including the need to ensure animals are unconscious before they are suspended on the slaughter line.
The SFCR contain animal welfare requirements that apply to all federally regulated slaughter activities, including non-ritual and ritual slaughter.
In non-ritual slaughter, the SFCR require that food animals be rendered unconscious through pre-slaughter stunning prior to being suspended and bled on the slaughter line. With respect to ritual slaughter activities, the SFCR explicitly provide an exception that allows animals to be ritually slaughtered without stunning in compliance with Judaic or Islamic law. Regardless of the slaughter method, the SFCR require that any handling of food animals must not cause or subject the animal to avoidable suffering, pain or distress, and require that the food animal be unconscious before suspending on the slaughter line.
The ritual slaughter provisions of the MIR were carried over into the SFCR and the CFIA received comments on these provisions during the public consultation phase of the SFCR. The proposed regulations were published in Canada Gazette, part I, in January 2017 for a 90-day public consultation period. Over 1,300 comments were received and reviewed.
Based on the comments received and further analysis and considerations, the CFIA maintained the ritual slaughter provisions in the final publication of the regulations but amended the wording describing the neck cut to be in line with a recommendation from a Jewish organization.
With regard to part (b), the CFIA administers and enforces the Safe Food for Canadians Act, or SFCA, and regulations, which govern food import, export and interprovincial trade. Slaughter businesses that operate entirely within a province or territory are subject to provincial or territorial requirements under the supervision of the respective authority that governs food safety and welfare at slaughter within the province or territory.
The exception in the SFCR that allows animals to be ritually slaughtered without stunning provides the flexibility needed for kosher meat to be available in Canada. There are several SFCA licence-holders, or federally licensed operators, who are currently slaughtering and producing kosher meat products in compliance with the SFCR.
Kosher meat can also be imported in accordance with the SFCR, if the country and the establishment where the food animal was slaughtered and the meat produced has a system that is recognized as providing the same level of protection as in Canada. Currently, 43 establishments from eight countries with a recognized inspection system by the CFIA can export kosher beef to Canada.
Most provinces and territories also offer a similar flexibility for ritual slaughter while meeting animal welfare outcomes, thus offering opportunity for ongoing production and supply of kosher products within a province or a territory.
Regarding part (c), the SFCR, through the exception offered for ritual slaughter, ensure animal welfare requirements are met while providing the flexibility needed to produce kosher meat. Since 2010, the CFIA has been providing guidance to industry to help them comply with animal welfare regulatory requirements during ritual slaughter activities. In 2019, the CFIA published the “Guidelines for ritual slaughter of food animals without pre-slaughter stunning”, which are based on scientific evidence and international best practices.
The CFIA has engaged, and will continue to engage, with federally regulated licence-holders involved in kosher meat production to support them in their efforts to maintain compliance and the domestic production of kosher meat.
The CFIA always stays on the lookout for new scientific findings that can support animal welfare and listens to and engages with stakeholders on the challenges they face as well as on potential solutions.
Concerning part (d), the CFIA has engaged and will continue to engage with federally regulated licence-holders involved in kosher meat production to support them in their efforts to maintain compliance and the domestic production of kosher meat. The CFIA always stays on the lookout for new scientific findings that can support animal welfare and listens to and engages with stakeholders on the challenges they face as well as on potential solutions.
Along with CFIA, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is also taking steps to engage with federally and provincially regulated abattoirs, as well as the Jewish community, to gather intelligence, understand probable solutions and examine potential options that could contribute to increasing kosher supplies in Canada.
With regard to parts (e) and (f), the regulatory exception to support ritual slaughter practices by allowing animals to be ritually slaughtered without stunning is available to all licence-holders who are licensed for slaughter activities and who comply with their licence conditions.
