Alberta: Bill 1 Eliminates Right to Protest

by Marie Bennett | Jun 19, 2020 | AB Law G, Alberta, Alberta Bill 1, Ban Horse Slaughter, Bill 1, Demonstration, Jann Arden, Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Letter writing campaign, Make your vote count, NDP, Protest, University of Calgary Faculty of Law

Those of us involved with attempting to ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption, within Canada and beyond, are sickened to learn that Bill 1, which criminalizes protests on public and private property in Alberta, Canada has been granted royal assent and passed into law.

It received royal assent on the morning of June 17, 2020 and comes into effect immediately.

The excerpts that follow are from two posts from the University of Calgary [Alberta, Canada] Faculty of Law website.

The first post written by: Jennifer Koshan, B.Sc., LL.B (Calgary), LL.M. (British Columbia). Professor. Member of the Alberta Bar.

The second by: Alexandra Heine, Juris Doctor (J.D.)

IN CANADA, INCLUDING ALBERTA, WE HAVE COME TO EXPECT THE FOLLOWING:

“The purposes of social protest demonstrations are to make the public aware of group or social interests, to call for deliberate action, and to insist on the recognition of marginalized interests and rights.

In a democracy, those engaged in peaceful protests must be free to demonstrate in places of safety – places where they are not subject to arrest and punishment simply for being present in a public space.

Too often, where the police are under pressure to enforce the letter of the law, the spirit of the law is undermined. In those instances, the police enforce “petty” laws that escalate into violence, abuse and fear.”

RIGHT?

“While only five sections long, [Bill 1] manages to prohibit a wide range of conduct, grant extraordinary powers to police and other peace officers, and impose significant sanctions on those who contravene the legislation.” [AKA the right to hold a peaceful protest.]

Section 2 of Bill 1 lists this as one of the prohibitions:

2(1) No person shall, without lawful right, justification or excuse, wilfully enter on any essential infrastructure.

The term “essential infrastructure” is defined in section 1 of Bill 1 and it captures a broad range of infrastructure including pipelines, railways, public utilities, and agricultural operations…

It includes streets, thoroughfares, parkways, driveways, and alleys, “whether publicly or privately owned, that the public is ordinarily entitled or permitted to use for the passage or parking of vehicles.”

It also includes sidewalks, ditches, and land between fences and highways.

“It’s hard to believe that in Alberta, Canada the right to protest any cause, even on private property, has essentially become illegal.”

Section 3 of Bill 1 states that anyone who contravenes section 2 is guilty of an offence and liable, in the case of a first offence, to a minimum fine of $1,000 and a maximum fine of $10,000, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or both.

In the case of a second or subsequent offence, an individual is liable to a minimum fine of $1,000 and a maximum fine of $25,000, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or both. The Bill also sets significantly higher fines for a corporation that commits an offence.

“Section 4 gives peace officers the power to arrest without a warrant any person who contravenes subsection 2(1), (2), or (3).”

“What we see in Bill 1 is an attempt by the government of Alberta to penalize all protests that are group activities, and perhaps individual entry onto essential infrastructure too.”

“Bill 1 does not even pretend to facilitate and channel social protest demonstrations into locations that are acceptable and safe for both protesters and other members of the public.”

“While Bill 1 may dissuade some from what are lawful protests based on their Charter rights, there will always be those like Martin Luther King for whom oppressive laws are not a deterrent to civil disobedience and protest (see Letter from a Birmingham Jail).”

Keep reading…

“Mass arrests and charges are foreseeable, but the cost of challenging even some of these arrests will be prohibitive for most.”

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USA TODAY: Horses go from Racetracks to Slaughterhouses

by Marie Bennett | Jun 16, 2020 | Article, Canada Day, Canadians Against Horse Abuse, FAQ1, FAQs, Horse meat, Horse meat human consumption, Horse Racing, Horse Slaughter, Horses slaughtered for meat, Maggie Hinton, Santa Anita Race Track, T.B. Racing, thoroughbred, Thoroughbred Racing, USA TODAY

Re-post worthy article and VIDEO from USA TODAY.

FORNEY, Texas — Mike McBarron stepped out of the 96-degree heat and into a shed on his feedlot after loading 37 horses onto a truck. They were headed to Mexico, where they would be slaughtered and shipped around the world for human consumption.

“It’s just a job to me,” McBarron told USA TODAY Sports. “I mean, I don’t attach myself to them. I don’t fall in love with them.”

McBarron, 48, is one of the country’s most prolific “kill buyers,” people who buy horses and sell them to slaughterhouses. They also represent an uncomfortable reality for the horse racing industry.

Over the past decade, an average of more than 600 thoroughbreds a year have died because of racing, according to research by the USA TODAY Network.

By contrast, an estimated 7,500 thoroughbreds a year are slaughtered for human consumption, according to Alex Waldrop, president of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA).

“The problem is that the entire industry is a conveyor belt for slaughter,’’ said John Holland, president of the Equine Welfare Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending the slaughter of American horses. “They just keep cranking them (out).’’

McBarron, who acknowledged he has bought and sold retired racehorses for slaughter, has sent tens of thousands of horses to slaughter plants and generated millions of dollars in revenue, according to invoices cited in an informal investigation conducted by a nonprofit group called Animals’ Angels.

That practice is unlikely to be a popular topic this week at the Breeders’ Cup, which has attracted many of the sport’s top horses and intense scrutiny of the sport.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE...

So what can you do to help stop this barbaric slaughter of race and other horses being slaughtered for human consumption?

TAKE ACTION

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Draft Horses Butchered for Sushi

by Marie Bennett | Jun 9, 2020 | Alberta, Ban Horse Slaughter, Calgary International Airport, Canada Day, Canadian Federation of Agriculture, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Canadian Horse Defence Coalition, Canadians Against Horse Abuse, CFIA, CHDC, CHDC Lawsuit, Horse meat, Horse meat human consumption, Horse Slaughter, Horses slaughtered for meat, Inhumane Transport, Japan, Maggie Hinton

Very special thanks to Maggie Hinton of Canadians Against Horse Abuse who writes:

Many Canadians and Americans do not realize that even though horse slaughter is currently not allowed in the United States, horses from both countries are slaughtered in Canada for human consumption.

Additionally, since 2012 draft horses have been shipped by air from Canada to Japan to be slaughtered for consumption, including for sushi.

The Canadian Meat Council, a member of the *Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA) coalition worked on a **deal with the Canadian Government and Japan to eliminate tarriffs on the export of horses from Canada to Japan for slaughter.

Since that time individuals and organizations including the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition(CHDC) have been lobbying the Canadian government to stop the shipment of live horses for slaughter to Japan.

CHDC issued the first press release on the subject of live horse exports to Japan for slaughter in 2012, and were quick to point out how shipping horses live to Japan is economically feasible, because the CFIA is turning a blind eye to their own shipping regulations…

“Footage taken of Alberta horses being shipped live to Japan for slaughgter shows that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is violating their own standards set forth in the Health of Animals Regulations. The regulations prohibit the transportation of all animals under conditions that would expose the animals to undue injury or suffering.”

More recently CHDC sued the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which is a Canadian Federal Government agency for blatantly ignoring international shipping regulations.

So again, like many others, you may be wondering how shipping horses by air to Japan could possibly be economically feasible.

Eliminating tariffs helped keep costs down. In addition, kill buyers and producers get away with keeping horses in crowded, wet, dirty, cold, feedlots without adequate shelter, including in winter — and we all know how cold Canadian winters can be. Horses are transported in crowded trailers to the airport.

Then because the Canadian Food Inspection Agency turns a blind eye, horses are shipped by air to Japan in flimsy, wooden crates, with as many as possible crammed into each crate. (Shipping regulations allow for one draft horse per crate, but that regulation is consistently ignored.)

When shipping by air, horses are denied basic nutrition and water, pushing the limit to what the horses can tolerate. Horses destined for slaughter travel to Japan without the watchful eye of a trained equine specialist. After all, that would mean an added expense.

Pictures of horses in a holding pen in Alberta, Canada and destined for slaugher -- are courtesy of Christine Gallant.

*The Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA) is a coalition of national and regional organizations that support a more open and fair international trading environment for agriculture and agri-food. CAFTA’s members: Canola Council of Canada, Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, Pulse Canada, Soy Canada, Canadian Pork Council, Canadian Meat Council, Canola Growers Association, Grain Growers of Canada, Cereals Canada, Canadian Sugar Institute, Alberta Cattle Feeders Association, National Cattle Feeders Association, Barley Council of Canada. Based on domestic exports data for 2015, CAFTA’s members account 48 billion dollars of exports, representing 80% of the total value of Canadian agricultural and agri-food products exports.

**In 2012 Canada and Japan announced the launch of negotiations towards a comprehensive and high-level economic partnership agreement (EPA). The agreement known as the Canada-Japan Economic Partnership seeks to reduce and in some cases eliminated the non-tariff and tariff barriers that limits trade between the two nations.

CAFTA seeks expanded market access in Japan through the removal of import tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers.

CAFTA supports Canada’s participation in the EPA and believes it will significantly contributes to the growth and competitiveness of the agricultural sector.”

http://cafta.org/trade-agreements/canada-japan-epa/

The following is page 2 of a 1,134 page report – a spread sheet:

https://www.international.gc.ca/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/assets/pdfs/tpp-ptp/2-D.Japan-Tariff-Elimination-Schedule.PDF (Global Affairs Canada)

“TARIFF SCHEDULE OF JAPAN (HS2012)

(Year 1 – 21 and subsequent years)

LIVE ANIMALS AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS – (NO TARIFFS with exception of 010121.290)

01.01 Live horses, asses, mules and hinnies

Horses

0101.21 Pure-bred breeding animals

010121.100 Certified as being those other than Thoroughbred,Thoroughbred-grade, Arab, Anglo-Arab or Arab-grade horses (hereinafter referred to as “light-breed horses”) in accordance with the provisions of a cabinet order

2 Other

010121.210(1) “Light-breed horses” certified as being those used for purposes other than horse-race and as being not pregnant in accordance with the provisions of a cabinet order

010121.290(2) Other 3,400,000 yen/each

0101.29 Other

010129.1001 Certified as being not “light-breed horses” in accordance with the provisions of a cabinet order

2 Other

010129.210(1) “Light-breed horses” certified as being those used for purposes other than horse-race and as being not pregnant in accordance with the provisions of a cabinet order “

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Deadline to Help Horses Looming

by Marie Bennett | Jun 3, 2020 | Ban Horse Slaughter, CHDC, Current petitions, e-Petition, Horse Slaughter, Petition, Rebeka Breder

The Member of Parliament Petition (E-2410) put forward in 2020 by Shelley Grainger has closed. It closed with a very respectable 4,632 signatures, and it was presented to Members of Parliament in the House of Commons.

HOWEVER as of March 2021 another Member of Parliament petition is circulating.

This type of petition has more clout than most because it will be presented in the House of Commons if it reaches over 500 signatures.

As of March 3rd, 2021 this new petition has reached… 24,267 signatures.

BUT please even though this petition has more momentum than the last, PLEASE take the time to sign.

After you sign, you’ll need to confirm your signature by replying to the email the petition generates.

SIGN PETITION

P.S. After you have filled out the form, PLEASE wait for an email to confirm your signature.

THANK YOU for signing and for sharing far and wide!.

NOT Canadian?

CURRENT PETITIONS ANYONE CAN SIGN...

2021 VOTING IS OPEN!

As you follow along with Canadian Horse Defence Coalition and their mission to ban horse slaughter for human consumption, you will notice that Rebeka Breder is the lawyer who is handling a lawsuit appeal on behalf of CHDC against the Canadian Government.

(CHDC is suing the Canadian Government for blatantly breaking international shipping regulations and their inhumane treatment of horses.)

We respectfully request that you take 2 minutes to support Rebeka in receiving recognition as a Canadian Lawyer, Top 25 Most Influential “Change Maker” — for all the work she does for so many when it comes to animal advocacy.

A FEW QUICK, SIMPLE STEPS

Please click the BUTTON below and then hit NEXT at the bottom of the page that opens, hit next THREE more times until you come to the page on the survey that on the top left hand side has the title CHANGE MAKERS.

Then simply scroll down and put a dot in beside the name REBEKA BREDER — at the bottom of the CHANGE MAKERS page.

Then to complete the survey you will need to hit NEXT three more times until you get to the DONE button.

Hit DONE and you will get a thank you message for completing the survey.

P.S. We know it sounds complicated but it really isn’t.

AND thank you in advance.

2021 VOTING IS OPEN!

Over the last 15 years, Rebeka Breder developed a unique practice in animal law, and founded the first law firm in Western Canada to exclusively focus on animal law.

She takes on only those cases that advance the interests of animals. She was counsel in the first few cases to successfully save “dangerous” dogs in BC since the law changed in 2019.

She is counsel for the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition, which is appealing to the Federal Court of Appeal in a ground-breaking case, where for the first time, an animal protection group has sued the government over the transportation of animals in Canada.

She was counsel in the first pet custody case in Canada that recognized jurisdiction to allow shared custody of a companion animal.

She is counsel for clients whose dogs were shot by police, in cases which may impact the duties police officers owe to people and their dogs.

She is counsel for a client whose dog was electrocuted while out for a walk on city property, a case which may impact the monetary damages that may be awarded for loss of a pet.

She continues to be heavily involved in the animal protection community in her spare time, including working behind the scenes with a city councillor for making amendments to “aggressive dog” bylaws in Vancouver, being a member of local groups for the protection of animals and making various presentations to city councils for the protection of bears, trees and companion animals.

She was on the board of the Vancouver Humane Society for over 10 years.

She has given over a dozen animal law lectures internationally and nationally. She has been featured in media on various topical animal law issues and had previously appeared in a documentary on the captivity of cetaceans.

She also continues to spend a significant amount of time monthly to mentor students interested in animal law.

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31 Ponies Saved BUT Funding Still Needed

by Marie Bennett | May 25, 2020 | Alberta, CHEK NEWS, Covid 19, Equestrian Canada, Horse meat, Horse Slaughter, Horses slaughtered for meat, Humanity for Horses, Ponies, Pony, Rebecca Sanesh

Photo courtesy of Rebecca Sanesh of Humanity for Horses Rescue and Rehab.

Special thanks to Sarah Stewart and Patti Lippert for making us aware of this story.

Equestrian Canada warns that due to income losses associated with Covid-19 many horses in Canada could be in jeopardy of being disposed of.

Disposal methods include horse auctions where many horses often end up in the hands of “meat” AKA “kill” buyers who sell horses to slaughter plants in Canada to be killed for human consumption. Kill buyers also buy directly from owners

CHEK news reported on a story involving the rescue of 31 ponies that were destined to be sold at an auction in Alberta but instead money has been raised to save and re-home these ponies.

Rebecca Sanesh of Humanity for Horses Rescue and Rehab spearheaded this rescue and addtitional funds will be needed for feeding and veterinarian care. PLUS Humanity for Horses has other equines in constant need of care.

Learn more about the story, watch a short video at CHEK NEWS here.

Follow up story and more video via CHEK NEWS here.

Contribute via Go Fund Me to help these ponies AND OTHER equines in the care of Humanity for Horses.

Learn more about Humanity for Horses here.

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Every year thousands of horses are routinely slaughtered in Canada, for human consumption, but you can help us ban horse slaughter in Canada and beyond.

Some of the meat is consumed in Canada, and much of it is shipped to the European Union, and other markets, including Japan.

This barbaric practice is currently not legal in the United States, so horses from the United States are shipped to Canada, and to Mexico, to be slaughtered.

In addition Canada allows for the transportation of live horses to Japan to be slaughtered for human consumption, and unfortunately the transportation of horses destined for slaughter within Canada, and by air to Japan for saughter, is far from humane.

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IN CANADA, INCLUDING ALBERTA, WE HAVE COME TO EXPECT THE FOLLOWING:

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