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 * BILL 156 MYTHS/FACTS

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 * BILL 156 MYTHS/FACTS



Canadians are speaking out against the Ford government’s Bill 156. What is the
government hiding?

#StopBill156
#ExposingViolenceIsNotACrime




STOP BILL 156 - ONTARIO'S 'AG-GAG' BILL

The Conservative government’s proposed Bill 156 is a dangerous piece of
legislation that would hide animal abuse and prevent animal activists,
whistleblowers, media, and others, from performing their vital role in exposing
the horrific treatment of farmed animals. Please help us #StopBill156

Sign the Petition
Download Paper Petition


BILL 156 MYTHS/FACTS


MYTH #1: BILL 156 WAS INTRODUCED FOR FARMER AND FOOD SAFETY AND TO PROTECT
ANIMAL WELFARE

Bill 156 was drafted “to protect farmers, and others, from risks” in their homes
and at their workplaces in Ontario. The legislation is “intended to protect farm
animals” and prevent  “exposing farm animals to disease and stress”.  It
balances the security of farmers  and  “the food supply”, with the right of
people “to participate in legal protests”. (Source: MPP Ernie Hardeman, Ontario
Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, December 10, 2019 – House
Debate.)


FACT #1:

Bill 156 was drafted at the behest of some in the Ontario animal agricultural
sector. Its purpose is to conceal unacceptable conditions at their farms,
workplaces and agri-businesses, and to safeguard their financial interests. It
is designed to protect profits, while stifling dissent over animal exploitation
and appalling agricultural practices and operations. Its goal is to suppress
exposure of animal suffering and cruelty – both on farms and during transport.
It is an attempt to hide unsanitary and unhygienic conditions extant on many
farms and during all live transport. It aims to silence workplace
whistleblowers. It will prevent peaceful protests on public property, rendering
them unlawful. It allows for “force” by farmers and thus encourages violence. It
will allow heavy penalties for any person deemed not in compliance. It
essentially criminalizes compassion for farm animals.




MYTH #2: ONTARIO IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF DEVELOPING NECESSARY AGRI-FOOD
LEGISLATION TO PROTECT FARMING COMMUNITIES AND THE PUBLIC 

“We’re very proud that by bringing forward this legislation, Ontario is helping
to lead the development of agri-food-specific trespass legislation in Canada.
Other governments are taking steps to support their security as we are, here in
Ontario.” (MPP Toby Barrett, Haldeman-Norfolk, December 10, 2019 – House
Debate.)


FACT #2:

Bill 156 is closely modeled on similar legislation in the United States, known
as ‘ag gag’ laws, which have been struck down by the courts in multiple U.S.
states as unconstitutional. Bill 156 is contrary to the public interest and is a
violation of citizens’ rights in Ontario guaranteed under the Canadian Charter
of Rights and Freedoms. Designed solely to protect agri-business, it will not
deter dedicated truth-seekers with broader democratic priorities and humane
principles; instead, it would expose the government and Crown to liability and
thus incur significant taxpayer expense if challenged in court.




AG-GAG BILL 156

 



WHAT ARE THEY HIDING?

 




MYTH #3: CONSULTATION

The Ontario government consulted with key stakeholders in 2019, including
“animal rights groups”. (Source: MPP Ernie Hardeman, Minister of Agriculture,
December 10, 2019 – House Debate.)


FACT #3: 

No “animal rights group” or anyone in the broad-based farm animal welfare
community in Ontario can recall any such consultation re Bill 156. Bill 156 was
crafted in relative secrecy. There also has been no transparency in the form of
disclosure to the general public or animal advocates during the preparation of
the bill. We challenge Mr. Hardeman to provide proof of such disclosure and
alleged consultation.




MYTH #4: FARMERS’ SECURITY IS AT RISK

Farmers are not safe in their homes. (Source: MPP Ernie Hardeman, Minister of
Agriculture, December 10, 2019 – House Debate.)


FACT #4: 

At no time have animal advocates, activists, whistleblowers or any other
investigators threatened farmers or their families in their homes, nor have any
animal advocates or organizations ever perpetrated an act of violence against an
Ontario farmer(s), or have been similarly charged. Such egregious suggestions by
the Minister of Agriculture impugn the reputations of investigators, animal
advocates/activists, media, and farm employees who have exposed, or seek to
expose, the hidden reality and typically abusive nature of farming practices
occurring in Ontario. The bill will criminalize those who wish to expose and/or
publicize the adverse impact that those practices and operations have on both
the farm animals and the public interest.



Abused pig in slaughter truck. Photo by New Wave Activism, Burlington, Ontario.




MYTH #5: BILL 156 PROTECTS ANIMAL WELFARE

“Our government has always been committed to animal welfare.”
“The proposed legislation…aims to protect the welfare of animals. (MPP Ernie
Hardeman, Minister of Agriculture, December 10, 2019 – House Debate.)
“Speaker, there are strong rules to ensure animal welfare, no matter where those
animals are located, including during transportation.” (MPP Toby Barrett,
Haldeman-Norfolk, December 10, 2019 – House Debate.)


FACT #5: 

The Ontario government has shown no commitment to farm animal welfare.
Agricultural animals are not protected in provincial law –  there are no
regulations in Ontario governing agricultural animal welfare or activities on
farms. The proposed legislation further condemns farm animals to horrific
conditions, by enacting provisions that will deny public scrutiny and penalize
those who genuinely advocate for them.

Farm animals will continue to be shipped to slaughter in extreme temperatures,
over long distances, with no relief, currently, for up to 36 hours for pigs, up
to 36 hours for chickens, and 52 hours for cattle. Additional wait times and
extraordinary long delays at border crossings, heavy or slowed traffic, etc.
will further add to their stress and suffering. They will continue to be packed
into crates and/or transport trucks in extreme heat – without adequate
ventilation and with no water. They will still suffer great distress from heat
prostration and extreme thirst; many dying on route. In the severe cold, animals
will continue to arrive at slaughterhouses frozen to the sides of the trucks, or
frozen to death. Pregnant animals will continue to give birth on slaughter
trucks, their newborns to die from being trampled or exposed to extreme
elements. All of these inhumane conditions run contrary to the recommendations
of the Canada’s National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) Transportation Code of
Practice, yet all have been exposed as routine practices in Ontario.

It is animal advocates and concerned members of the public, not the government,
that have demonstrated any consideration or compassion for these animals.

Bill 156 contains no provision whatsoever to protect farm animal welfare; it
protects and shields the animal agricultural industry exclusively. In fact, the
Ford government’s recent Provincial Animal Welfare Services (PAWS) Act, 2019,
explicitly exempted agricultural animals. (See PAWS Act, Standards of care and
administrative requirements for animals, Section 13, Subsection (2): Exception,
agricultural activities.)



Newborn lamb, born on slaughter truck and trampled to death. His lifeless body
was removed by activists.




MYTH #6: PROTECTIVE LEGISLATION EXISTS FOR FARM ANIMALS

“…this bill, along with the PAWS Act, is part of this government’s plan to
ensure Ontario has the strongest animal protection and welfare laws in the
country.”
“Our government feels strongly that there is no place in Ontario for abuse or
neglect of animals. We have a plan, and this bill that we started debating today
is the second half of the plan.”
(MPP Ernie Hardeman, Minister of Agriculture, December 10, 2019 – House Debate.)


FACT #6: 

Within just days of passing the PAWS Act in December 2019, Bill 156 was
introduced to the Ontario legislature. Although the PAWS Act was an improvement
over the old OSPCA Act for domestic and some other animals, it was particularly
ominous for agricultural animals. Disingenuous at best, the Ontario government
is attempting to hide the complete absence of agricultural animal welfare
regulations behind the new PAWS Act. The government’s assertion that the two
bills jointly protect farm, and domestic/other animals, is both cruelly cynical
and false.

Animal welfare conditions, practices, operations and activities on Ontario farms
are in no way regulated by the province, nor are they provided for in either
Bill 156 or the PAWS Act. There is no provisional oversight for farm animal
welfare in either legislation. The current nationally-developed Codes of
Practice, issued by Canada’s National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) are
guidelines that do provide some welfare standards; however, while the Codes have
been formerly endorsed by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), in
reality, those standards are typically disregarded by the province’s
agricultural sector. Many in the farming industry are either unaware of them –
or simply ignore them. In fact, the OFA “categorically opposed” proposed animal
welfare amendments to the Criminal Code.* Government collaboration with the
province’s agricultural industry to promote adherence to accepted farm animal
welfare standards is critical, yet aside from scant references in the PAWS Act,
the government has neglected to do so. 

Despite years of media exposés, peaceful protests, petitions, and appeals for
reform from animal advocates and members of the public, there is no bill, or
amendment to alleviate any distress, or protect or improve the welfare of
animals on farms, or in transport, either by the federal government or by the
Ford government – or by any provincial government. In fact, under the province’s
recent PAWS Act, farm animals are expressly exempted. (See PAWS Act, Part IV,
Standards of care and administrative requirements for animals, Section 13,
subsection 2: “Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of an activity regarding
agricultural animal care, management or husbandry carried on in accordance with
the reasonable and generally accepted practices of agricultural animal care,
management, or husbandry…”)

More detailed explanations of the national/provincial jurisdiction and
responsibility for farm animal law enforcement can be found here: Strengthening
Farmed Animal Welfare Laws

*ofa.on.ca



Injured chicken on truck. Toronto, Ontario.




MYTH #7: FARMERS CARE FOR THEIR ANIMALS – THERE IS NO CRUELTY, NO NEED FOR
WHISTLEBLOWERS

“Ontario’s farmers and food businesses work hard to protect and care for their
animals…” “Ontario farmers comply with strict provincial and federal regulations
to ensure they meet…animal welfare standards.” (MPP Ernie Hardeman, Minister of
Agriculture, December 10, 2019 – House Debate.)


FACT #7:

Rather than being the exception to the rule, animal abuse and cruelty is a
routine and commonplace practice on many Ontario farms. Whistleblowers and
concerned citizens have had recourse to relevant provisions of the Criminal Code
of Canada, which were weak, often woefully unenforced and granted exceptions to
the offenses of causing, or permitting, distress to agricultural animals. Now,
with both the new PAWS Act, any former Standards of Care have been revoked (as
of January 1st, 2020), and Bill 156 will ensure that agricultural animal
“distress” will not only continue unabated, but will be further hidden from
view.

Investigators and whistleblowers, together with the mainstream media, have
recorded and documented shocking animal cruelty and revealed the footage to the
Ontario public. This included cruelty to chickens at the Maple Lodge Farms
slaughterhouse; horrific conditions for pigs at Crimson Lane Farms; and abuse of
turkeys at Hybrid Turkeys, which led to 11 charges and cruelty convictions under
the Criminal Code of Canada, for the commercial farm and its individual
employees.

Investigators and witnesses have also frequently filed formal complaints with
the Ontario government re extreme cruelty and/or neglect to farm animals, along
with evidence that had been caught on camera.  Many of those complaints have
been acknowledged as received by the provincial government, but were otherwise
disregarded with no subsequent follow-up with complainants or charges (see
examples of animal cruelty footage, below):

 * pregnant sow with prolapse
 * nursing sows in crates so small they cannot turn around in, or reach their
   babies
 * sick and diseased pig on  slaughter truck
 * gasping, suffering pigs on slaughter truck
 * fire hazard, filth at the pig breeding facility
 * chickens in trucks with dismembered legs
 * cow bleeding from head
 * cow with large tumour on its leg
 * downed/injured cow on slaughter truck

(See PAWS Act, Section 15, Subsection 4 (c): “Distress – Causing Distress,
Permitting Distress, Exposure to Undue Risk of Distress: Exception, agricultural
animal care, management or husbandry”. )


 



Dead calf on dairy farm. Activists watched as this baby died in front of them.
Southwestern Ontario.




MYTH #8: SYSTEMS EXIST FOR THE PREVENTION OF FARM ANIMAL ABUSE OR NEGLECT, AND
PROSECUTION OF PERPETRATORS

“We have systems in place that if anyone suspects neglect or abuse of any
animal, they should call the authorities and report it immediately.” – (MPP
Ernie Hardeman, Minister of Agriculture, December 10, 2019 – House Debate.)


FACT #8: 

Should a farm or industry employee, or any other person, witness and/or report
animal neglect or abuse in, or near, an agricultural facility, under the
proposed provisions of Bill 156, that individual would be subject to:

1) Citizen’s arrest by the farm owner or farm industry employee; and,
2) Physical harm, due to the bill’s provision of allowable “force” by an
arresting farm owner, or farm industry employee; and,
3) No recourse to the courts for remedy for damages sustained from a farmer
protected against civil liability; and,
4) Financial loss, either incurred via a fine, and/or ensuing litigation; and,
5) Firing from his/her job at a farm or farm industry site, on the basis of the
bill’s provision of “interference” with animal agriculture/industry; and,
6) Arrest, charges, incarceration, exorbitant fines, and/or other penalties
allowable under the provisions of Bill 156 ; and,
7) Unwitting trespass, due to the bill’s vague language, such as so-called
“animal protection zones”; and,
8) Arrest for other similarly undefined terms and provisions that defy
fundamental civil rights, such as the denial of legal protest on public property
near an agricultural animal facility; and,
9) Delayed arrests/charges/prosecution of up to two years for alleged
violations; and,
10) A violation of his/her constitutional rights under the Canadian Charter of
Rights and Freedoms.

(Source: Bill 156 – An Act to protect Ontario’s farms and farm animals from
trespassers and other forms of interference and to prevent contamination of
Ontario’s food supply)




MYTH #9: BIOSECURITY IS THREATENED BY UNAUTHORISED ENTRY

“Individuals who enter a farm or enter a processing facility or other prescribed
premises where farm animals are located without authorization…may unknowingly
introduce risk to:
—animal welfare, through stress or trauma;
—public health, by inadvertently spreading diseases that can be transmitted to
humans by animals;
—animals, by unknowingly transmitting diseases to them; and
—our food supply, by introducing contaminants in food processing plants or from
interacting with animals.” (MPP Toby Barrett, Haldeman-Norfolk, December 10,
2019 – House Debate.)

“From Keith Currie, the president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture:
‘Farmers implement biosecurity measures to protect against unwanted diseases.’
Think about that. We don’t want disease in our animals, because that is part of
our food security.” – (Quoted by MPP Dave Smith, Peterborough-Kawartha, December
10, 2019, House Debates.)


FACT #9:

The suggestion by the Ontario government that farm animals are subjected to
“stress or trauma” by peaceable observers of their conditions, particularly
their suffering, neglect, or abuse, is clearly absurd. But the allegation that
unauthorized individuals pose serious health risks to a farm, transport truck,
or food processing plant requires a response.

Most pathogens and organisms are spread to agriculture animals via farm
personnel, who move from one infected area to another, or through contaminated
feed. There is no evidence or history of any disease or contamination on
Ontario’s farm facilities as having being caused by unauthorized visitors. In
fact, all of the disease outbreaks that have threatened the public health over
past decades in Ontario have been traced to improper adherence to biosecurity
protocols by farm or slaughterhouse personnel themselves, or from within the
agricultural community. It must be stressed that biosecurity requirements at the
farm level have been merely voluntary in Canada until recent months, and are now
mandatory only for dairy farms. All farms have been permitted to jeopardize the
public health by loosely adhering to biosecurity requirements that are limited
to either self-assessment, or recommendations – if they participate at all.

It is also important to note that when the National Farm Animal Care Council
(NFACC) consulted with all stakeholders last year – including those from within
the agriculture sector and the general public – biosecurity concerns ranked far
below animal welfare concerns when it came to transportation. (Source:
At-a-Glance: Transportation Survey Results.) Given these facts, why has the
Ontario government alleged that biosecurity is such an overriding issue that it
requires legislation that harshly penalizes animal advocates?

On average, barns in Ontario burn down at an alarming rate of 80 barns per
annum, killing thousands of animals and threatening workers’ and visitors’
lives. Why has the Ontario government not moved instead on drafting Fire Code
amendments to help ensure that barns in Ontario are no longer exempt from the
provincial Fire Code?

Animal activists have recorded and documented electrical wiring that is
shockingly sub-standard and would violate any Fire Code legislation, should
mandatory inspections exist for Ontario farms. The obvious  jerry-rigged wiring
on some Ontario farms is truly frightening and continues to place all lives –
human and animal – at great risk. So why is the Ontario government pointing its
finger at animal advocates when it comes to farm safety?

Whistleblowers and independent investigations have established that farm animals
are often maintained in filthy and fetid conditions that create breeding grounds
for the E.Coli pathogen and other serious infections, such as salmonella. Sick
and dead animals and those forced to exist in their own excrement are the norm
at many farms. In feces-soaked transport trucks, some animals, often too weak to
stand, are recorded as hyperventilating, vomiting, or convulsing.  Animal
activists have also video-recorded numerous animals on their way to slaughter
with open, festering wounds and tumours. These animals, who are clearly ill, are
permitted to enter the food chain and put the public at risk.

As has also been widely reported in the media, farm run-off has contaminated
produce in Ontario, which has been responsible for multiple outbreaks of E. Coli
that has led to deaths, most infamously in Walkerton in 2000. The deadly
listeriosis outbreak at the Toronto Maple Leaf Meatpacking plant in 2008 was
determined to be the result of unhygenic practices at the plant. In that single
outbreak, 22 people died. Most recently in December, 2019, the Canadian Food
Inspection Agency (CFIA) cancelled the operating licences of 3 major Toronto
slaughterhouses, shutting them down in a move that rocked the beef industry.
After a massive recall of the processing plants’ E.coli-contaminated meat
products, CFIA’s investigative team also found that the companies provided false
or misleading information about the findings of their lab results. Animal
advocates had long documented appalling animal abuse at this same facility – an
action that would be denied to the public by Bill 156.

Thus, the allegations that independent investigators, or “activists”, place the
food supply at risk is an unsubstantiated and a pseudo-scientific scare-tactic
that is not motivated by the public interest and deflects from the real cause of
infectious disease in Ontario’s animal agriculture.




MYTH #10: ONLY ACTIVISTS OPPOSE BILL 156

 


FACT #10:

Since Bill 156 was first tabled in December, 2019, tens of thousands of
concerned citizens have signed petitions against its draconian provisions. The
official Opposition of the Ontario government is opposed to key sections of Bill
156, as is the leader of the provincial Liberal Party. In a letter to the
Attorney General of Ontario and ON Minister of Agriculture, 32 esteemed legal
scholars and constitutional and criminal law experts in Ontario and across
Canada added their voices to the call for a major overhaul of Bill 156, which
they have determined violates citizens’ rights under the Canadian Charter of
Rights and Freedoms (Charter, Section 2 (b).  (Read the letter here: Ontario “Ag
Gag” Bill is Unconstitutional.)






SUMMARY OF FACTS

Bill 156 is proposed legislation in Ontario that is unilateral, arbitrary and
undemocratic. It is contrary to the public interest and discourages public
confidence. It silences opposition to farm animal abuse and distress, and
attempts to hide that abuse and distress from the people of Ontario. It is
unconstitutional. In short, Bill 156 criminalizes compassion for farm animals
and imposes a chill on all concerned Ontarians.

Bill 156 is an attempt to impose legislation in areas over which the province
has questionable jurisdiction, such as conditions pertaining to agricultural
animals in transport. It is the federal government, not the government of
Ontario, that governs and monitors farm animals in transport and at
slaughterhouses. Hence, this bill is a classic example of ministerial overreach,
writ large.

Bill 156 is divisive – rather than fostering improved communication and
understanding between animal advocates, investigators, and farmers, it promotes
distrust, antagonism, and violence. This is a grossly irresponsible step in the
wrong direction by the Ontario government. The people of Ontario deserve better,
and we demand better.

Farm animals – we are their hope, we are their voice, and we will not be
silenced!

Join us! Contact your MPP, download the paper petition, and sign the electronic
petition. 


STOP AG-GAG BILL 156

Sign the Petition
Download Paper Petition