The Commons on Wednesday voted 278 to 36 in favour of a new law that stops animal rights protesters from going onto farms without permission.“These groups encourage unlawful behaviour,” said Conservative MP John Barlow (Foothills, AB), sponsor of the bill.“I talked to a producer in Saskatchewan and she does not feel safe to send her children out to fix fences by themselves because of the perceived risk from protesters,” Barlow said in the Third Reading debate. “These are actual things happening on farms today where, in rural Canada, our family farms do not feel safe.”According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Bill C-275 An Act to Amend the Health of Animals Act would ban unauthorized entry to “any building or other enclosed place in which animals are kept” under threat of $25,000 fines or three months in jail. Animal rights groups that “encourage this unlawful behaviour” would be subject to $100,000 fines.Barlow said the bill would apply to livestock sheds, rodeo pens and zoos. “This bill would not hinder in any way an individual’s right to protest on public property,” he said. “This bill would not prevent whistleblowers from coming forward when they see standards of care not being met.”New Democrats opposed the bill as unconstitutional. “I believe it is veering out of its federal laneway and into provincial jurisdiction,” said MP Alistair MacGregor (Cowichan-Malahat, BC).“If people are concerned with the inadequacy of current trespass law in Canada, then I invite them to pressure their provincial representatives because that is where this debate belongs,” said MacGregor. “If Members of this House feel trespass laws are not adequate, then it is the provincial legislatures of Canada that need to take that issue up.”During a meeting on October 5 at the Commons Agriculture committee, animal rights activists said that Bill C-275 is a law meant to stop people from speaking out against farming practices. They called it an "ag gag law."“There are no government inspections of farms to proactively monitor animal welfare,” testified Camille Labchuk, executive director of Animal Justice.“Have you lived on a farm?” asked Conservative MP Lianne Rood (Lambton-Kent, ON). “No, I didn’t grow up on a farm,” replied Labchuk.“So you’ve never cared for livestock yourself on a farm?” asked Rood. “Well, no, as I mentioned, I am a lawyer, not a farmer,” replied Labchuk.“Do you think animals should be used for food?” asked Rood. “We work to improve the legal protections for animals,” replied Labchuk.Now heading to the Senate, Bill C-275 is similar to Bill C-205 from 2021, which was approved by the Commons Agriculture committee but lapsed in the last Parliament.In a 2019 report Mental Health: A Priority For Our Farmers, the committee suggested that the government should outlaw “any form of intimidation or cyberbullying” targeting farmers. “When your home is your farm and your farm is your home, it’s an entirely different situation,” Conservative MP Earl Dreeshen (Red Deer-Mountain View, AB) told reporters at the time.
