Justice committee  Thank you.

Justice committee  Thanks very much, Minister, for being here. I also appreciate the support you gave to Bill C-246 before you were a minister. Your home province of Quebec has recognized that animals are sentient. I want to get at some of the general principles for why we want to protect animals

Justice committee  In terms of the moral wrong that we're aiming to address in the Criminal Code, is it a crime to cause unnecessary pain and suffering to animals because they're sentient—they think and feel and can suffer pain—or is it because they're the property of someone else?

Justice committee  I think it gets to the bottom of what we want the Criminal Code to look like in terms of protecting animals, and that will depend upon the first principles of what we want to protect in the first place. I think it's important, when we know and the evidence is that animals can thi

Justice committee  It's fair to say then that this is a first step—I would say a fairly modest first step, if I'm being generous—and that as justice minister you are committing to additional consultations and to doing more where those consultations find some consensus and find a way forward.

Justice committee  In keeping with that theme of additional consultations, I want to read a letter from November 22, 2004. It says: Canada's animal-based sectors, as represented by the undersigned, wish to express our support for the swift passage of certain amendments to the Criminal Code: Cruel

Justice committee  My last question will just pick up on that point of a dialogue. This committee is going to be engaged in a few meetings of study and legislative review of a bill that is effectively one page and that addresses two very narrow issues in the Criminal Code. It's an important bill in

Justice committee  Thanks very much.

Justice committee  I have less of a question than a point on “baiting”, just so that the committee is clear. From some of the questions, I got the sense that people thought the word “baiting” was being added by the bill, but the word “baiting” has been in the Criminal Code for decades, so to the ex

Justice committee  Thanks very much. Thank you to all three of you and your organizations for your advocacy, without which I don't think we would be here today talking about this piece of legislation. I want to follow up on Mr. Cooper's questions, but turn instead to this question of a prohibiti

Justice committee  Ms. Crook.

Justice committee  I note there is obviously strong support around this table for Bill C-84, and at different times it's been called very important and at different times modest. In keeping with Ms. Crook's very appropriate commitment to build a more humane and compassionate Canada, if you were to

Justice committee  Ms. Cartwright.

Justice committee  Ms. Crook.

Justice committee  My last question picks up on this idea of a bigger conversation and Bill C-84 as a first step. I want to actually note that this is a non-partisan issue, because I've had conversations with Michelle Rempel, with Len Webber, with Murray Rankin, members of all parties who care abou