Stakeholders Re-Engage on Animal Testing Bill

On December 8, CA met with our “animal testing ban” partners including Cruelty Free International, Humane Society International, Animal Alliance of Canada, and their affiliated retailers. The objective of the meeting was to: 1. re-affirm the previous consensus achieved among the group that proposed legislation banning cosmetic animal testing in Canada must align with the E.U. ban; 2. discuss strategies to advance a bill in the new Parliament; and, 3. identify key allies and next steps. It was a positive and productive dialogue, and CA’s advocacy efforts begin once again in the new Liberal Minority Government.

For background, the original Bill S-214 (Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act) was introduced in April 2019 for first reading in the House of Commons by Conservative MP and Health Critic Marilyn Gladu. The private member’s bill, which was passed in the Senate after first being introduced in 2015, seeks to amend Canada’s Food & Drugs Act to prohibit the sale and manufacture of animal tested cosmetics in Canada. The bill made it to 2nd reading in the House of Commons in June 2019 before dying with the dissolution of the 42nd Parliament. Bill S-214 as originally drafted did not align with the E.U. ban nor fit within Canada’s regulatory framework – leading to significant technical and legal issues.

CA worked with stakeholders including “animal testing ban” proponents, the Conservative Health Critic, and Liberal Health Minister’s staff to develop amendments to Bill S-214 that addressed the issues and aligned the legislation with the E.U. CA also executed a Government Relations strategy to support passage of a workable bill including outreach to key MPs, Ministers, and regulators.

Our extensive work on Bill S-214 throughout 2019 is expected to form the basis of a new bill, likely to be introduced as government legislation in the new Parliament in 2020, that aligns with the E.U. ban.