Maybe the fifth time will be the charm for government attempts to update cruelty-to-animal legislation for the first time since 1892.
Justice minister Irwin Cotler has become the latest in a long list of ministers who have proposed tougher penalties for those found guilty of extreme or unnecessary cruelty to animals.
Four times in recent Parliaments, cruelty-to-animals bills have died unapproved when elections have been called or a session ended.
Three weeks ago, when he introduced Bill C-50, Cotler said he hopes for a better fate this time.
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“I hope it will not once again die on the order paper, as it did in the past,” he told reporters. “We have introduced it now in order to reflect the importance that public opinion attaches to this legislation.”
He said it is the issue that consistently draws the most public response.
Cotler said the legislation will not stop farmers, hunters and trappers from running their businesses.
Specific clauses are included to reassure critics of past bills that traditional aboriginal hunting and fishing practices will not be affected.
However, for those convicted under the act, fines and possible jail terms would be much tougher than in the current legislation, crafted in the 19th century. A conviction for intentional cruelty could lead to a maximum jail term of five years from the current six months, and a maximum fine of $10,000 compared to the present $2,000.
The proposed legislation also would give a judge the authority to force a person convicted under the act to pay restitution to the animal welfare agency that cared for the injured animal.
In the last Parliament, despite support from most agricultural organizations and a strong lobby from humane societies, a cruelty-to-animals bill stalled in the Senate when some northern and aboriginal senators argued it would make traditional hunters vulnerable to persecution from animal rights activists.
Cotler said he hopes this version will satisfy those critics.
However, if this bill is not going to become the fifth failed attempt, the government will have to give it some priority.
The House of Commons sits for just three more weeks before it breaks in late June for three months. MPs return in late September but with an opposition-induced election possible this summer or autumn and a government promise of an election no later than winter, the bill will have to move quickly or risk dying when the next election is called.
