Hon. Chantal Petitclerc: I see that this item is at day 15 on the Order Paper, and Senator Duncan wishes to participate in the debate. I therefore move the adjournment of the debate in the name of Senator Duncan for the remainder of her time.

(On motion of Senator Petitclerc, for Senator Duncan, debate adjourned.)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Klyne, seconded by the Honourable Senator Harder, P.C., for the second reading of Bill S-241, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (great apes, elephants and certain other animals).

Hon. Chantal Petitclerc: Honourable senators, I rise today in support of Bill S-214, the Jane Goodall Act.

Over Christmas break in 2020, I took my son to SeaWorld in Orlando to see Nalani, the orca, who was swimming around her pool and splashing water in our direction. For a parent, there’s nothing quite like the joy of seeing your child’s eyes wide with wonder. My son was amazed and fascinated by this majestic animal just two metres away from us, on the other side the glass. This wasn’t the first time that I’d taken my son to a place like this, but things were different this time.

Things were different because, just one month earlier, Senator Sinclair had given a powerful speech in this place on the original version of this bill. There I was, with my son, sitting in the front row, excited and amazed, eating a burger without a care in the world. At the same time, this magnificent mammal was swimming in circles in her enclosure, doing tricks that were, quite frankly, beneath her.

I was thinking about Senator Sinclair’s speech. The examples, studies and data he shared with us made it quite clear to me that this animal was suffering, was abused, and was not where she was meant to be. Our admission tickets had funded this abuse, all for my son’s short-lived entertainment.

The wrongness and injustice of it were crystal clear and impossible for me to ignore. It was the last time we went to that kind of park.

[English]

I knew more, I knew better, and I could not hide behind the false sentiment of ignorance. I believe that when we know better, we have a responsibility to do better. This is what this bill is asking us to do: to take our responsibilities and commit to do better.

[Translation]

This bill is another major step in transforming our relationship with animals, particularly those we think of as exotic.

What we feel instinctively is now well documented. Here and elsewhere, studies, data and science about animals’ characteristics and needs prompt us to think about whether it is okay to keep them in captivity and under what conditions.

Putting animals on display just for our entertainment when there’s no guarantee that they’re being treated properly is no longer justifiable. More and more organizations, countries and individuals share this belief. Our laws must reflect our changing values.

Sabine Brels, who holds a doctorate of law from Laval University and wrote her thesis on the evolution and globalization of animal welfare law, has shown that steady progress is being made in terms of animal welfare law. She said, and I quote:

 . . . there are more and more obligations for treating animals properly, regulations for animal welfare and prohibitions that are both general (e.g. intentional cruelty) and specific (regarding specific practices) in nature. . . .

 . . . this study identified a trend toward the progressive convergence of protective animal welfare provisions at all levels: at the national level through the move from anti‑cruelty laws to laws that proactively protect the welfare of animals, and at the supranational level through European and international standards in commons areas (farming, transport, slaughter, experimentation).

The safety of animals is an issue that Canadians care about. Last March, a Nanos poll indicated that 88% of Ontarians would support regulations that would create licenses for zoos in the province and set standards for safety and animal welfare.

Whether this all comes from the government or senators, many discussions have been held to give Canada protective standards to improve animal welfare.

Thanks to the determined efforts of former senator Wilfrid P. Moore, keeping whales and dolphins in captivity is now a thing of the past. We should also note Senator Michael L. MacDonald’s Bill S-238, concerning shark finning, and Bill C-68, which prohibits shark finning and the import and export of fins that are not attached to the shark.

Let’s not forget the tireless efforts by former senator Carolyn Stewart Olsen to prohibit animal testing of cosmetics. More recently, we studied Bill C-84 to strengthen protections against bestiality and animal fighting. I will take this opportunity to thank Senator Klyne, who has broadened somewhat our responsibility to protect animals.

Thanks to this bill, more than 800 animals will be designated animals, chosen primarily for their need for space or because our climate is not appropriate for them. That is the case in particular of elephants, great apes, big cats, bears, wolves, seals, sea lions, walruses and certain primates. Other designated species such as crocodiles, giant pythons and venomous snakes have been selected to protect the public.

This legal protection would prevent these species from being acquired or bred in captivity without a permit being obtained first. It would then be impossible to hold them in captivity in just any location or treat them in any old way.

Let’s be clear. Zoos, aquariums and sanctuaries would continue to shelter them after first obtaining animal care organization status as set out in this bill. The eligibility criteria would be consistent with the standards of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, AZA, as well as other organizations to be determined by the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada, in consultation with animal welfare experts. These zoos and aquariums wouldn’t be able to organize shows for entertainment purposes unless they have a provincial permit.

One of the ambitions of this bill is to gradually eliminate keeping elephants in captivity in Canada, something I support wholeheartedly. You will all recall that, at second reading stage of the first version of the Jane Goodall Act, Senator Sinclair eloquently illustrated the extreme intelligence of elephants, animals whose physical, social and spacial needs are very complex. I will quote an excerpt from his speech:

[English]

Elephants are also altruistic. They try to revive sick or dying individuals, including strangers, lifting them with their tusks to get them to their feet. Elephants mourn their dead, scattering family members’ bones and standing vigil over dead matriarchs.

[Translation]

Just recently, 24 elephant welfare scientists from a wide range of disciplines expressed their support for gradually putting an end to keeping elephants in captivity. According to these scientists, no captive facility can meet the biological, social, spacial, cognitive and basic needs of elephants.

[English]

But I think we can arguably say that one doesn’t need to be an expert to know that keeping the largest land animal indoors — for example, in Quebec — during a long, cold winter, is just a bad idea. It’s as simple as that.

[Translation]

By passing this bill, Canada would become a leader in protecting against animal cruelty and neglect.

It is important to note that this isn’t about closing down every zoo, aquarium and animal sanctuary. Rather, it is about regulating the practice, with animal welfare at the heart of the decisions. This is a significant change, one that demonstrates how we now see humans living alongside and in harmony with other species, but not with the sole purpose of controlling them.

Labelling certain species as designated animals won’t come into effect until six months after Royal Assent. This period could be used to allow owners to adjust.

While there is some flexibility, let it be known that there will be consequences for owners or animal organizations that haven’t met the conditions for obtaining a permit to place new animals in captivity, particularly with respect to breeding.

Each change comes with its own set of repercussions, which aren’t always desirable but remain necessary to achieve a goal. I hope that this aspect will be studied by a committee. We need to find solutions and ways to support organizations during this transition phase.

Another aspect that the committee should focus on is the issue raised by Senator Miville-Dechêne concerning the risk of creating a two-tier system, since the seven zoos and aquariums that already meet the AZA standards benefit from additional protection because they are named in the bill. This issue will need to be studied.

This bill is the result of a collaborative effort that I wanted to mention before I conclude my speech. Senator Klyne worked with many animal rights organizations in the drafting of this bill. Five major zoos, including the Granby, Calgary and Toronto zoos and the Montreal Biodome and Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg, also contributed to the bill. These organizations are already involved in wildlife conservation and are committed to species preservation. I understand from their testimony, which was in support of this bill, that despite their daily efforts to ensure animal welfare, our laws need to be strengthened.

[English]

By the way, practising what it preaches by announcing its support for the bill, the Zoo de Granby plans to no longer house elephants in a few years.

Now, let me go back to Nalani the Orca. While he will, sadly, spend the remainder of his life in a small tank with the other orcas, SeaWorld has decided they will be the last orcas to be held in captivity in the park, a clear sign that here and everywhere things are changing and that entertainment and financial gain does not justify cruelty against animals. This leaves me hopeful.

As for having my son learn about the wonders of nature and those great animals, I have come to realize that there are other much better ways. Technology, for one, has permitted the unintrusive filming of animals in their natural environments for education, conservation and, yes, entertainment purposes.

You may all remember the magnificent film La Marche de l’Empereur, a 2005 French feature-length nature documentary that tells us about the yearly journey of the Emperor penguins of Antarctica. It took one year for two isolated cinematographers to shoot the documentary. Surely we can learn way more from this film than we can from watching them through a window in a small man-made captivity setting.

I did go back to Florida, and my son wanted to see dolphins, so I took him kayaking on the ocean. I told him it was a much better way for us to go into their home and hope they would want to meet him. After a good 40 minutes, we did manage to see some dolphins in the far distance, and he was overjoyed to be in their environment with them. Quite frankly, it was so far that I’m not sure it was a dolphin or a water safety device, but my goal was achieved.

[Translation]

For all these reasons, I sincerely hope that this bill will be referred to committee.

[English]

As parliamentarians, there are things that are out of our control, but this is not one of them. This bill has been debated, and I believe now is the time to act. The longer we wait, the longer vulnerable animals will lack protection.

[Translation]

As Senator Klyne and Senator Sinclair before him urged us to do, let’s ensure we have the means to “speak and act for the voiceless.” That is the purpose of this bill, which I hope will soon be referred to committee. Thank you.

(On motion of Senator Patterson, debate adjourned.)

[English]

The Senate proceeded to consideration of the sixth report (interim) of the Standing Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples, entitled Not Enough: All Words and No Action on MMIWG, tabled in the Senate on June 22, 2022.