Ontario passes law to cover up animal abuse on farms.

A law has been passed in Ontario that will further conceal animal cruelty at farms and slaughterhouses, and interfere with lawful protests.

Ontario’s Bill 156, the Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act, known as the “ag gag” legislation, protects farmers from on-farm trespassing and restricts the exposure of animal cruelty on farms.

 The Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act, 2020 helps deter trespassers by:

• Escalating fines of up to $15,000 for a first offence and $25,000 for subsequent offences, compared to a maximum of $10,000 under the Trespass to Property Act;

• Prescribing aggravating factors that would allow the court to consider factors that might justify an increased fine;

• Allowing the court to order restitution for damage in prescribed circumstances which could include damage to a farmer's livestock or from theft;

• Increasing protection for farmers against civil liability from people who were hurt while trespassing or contravening the act, provided the farmer did not directly cause the harm;

• Removing consent to enter a farm property when it was given under duress or false pretences.

Bill 156 is similar to ag gag laws that have been struck down as unconstitutional by courts in Idaho, Utah, Iowa, Kansas, and North Carolina. Canadian legal experts wrote to the government in February to advise that Bill 156 was unconstitutional because it attacks freedom of expression and could make investigative journalism at farms and slaughterhouses illegal.

The controversial legislation has been denounced by groups such as Animal Justice, which say the law could make it illegal for employee whistleblowers to seek out and expose animal abuse on farms, violations of workplace safety laws and poor conditions that could breed pathogens.

Meanwhile, the legislation has received support from many organisations and industry groups saying the legislation strikes a balance in respecting the right to peaceful public protest while giving the justice system the tools it needs to help protect farms, meat processors and the food supply from trespassing and harassment by groups and individuals.

Although the Government has described Bill 156 as an attempt to crack down on farm trespassers, trespassing on farms is already illegal under the Trespass to Property Act, with some of the highest fines in the country.