Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act, 2020, S.O. 2020, c. 9 - Bill 156

• Jurisdiction: Ontario
• Date: 18 June 2020
• Bill Number: 156

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Explanatory Note was written as a reader’s aid to Bill 156 and does not form part of the law. Bill 156 has been enacted as Chapter 9 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2020.

The Bill is intended to protect farm animals, the food supply, farmers and others from risks that are created when trespassers enter places where farm animals are kept or when persons engage in unauthorized interactions with farm animals. The risks include the risk of exposing farm animals to disease and stress, as well as the risk of introducing contaminants into the food supply.

Animal protection zones are defined in section 2 of the Bill as areas on farms, animal processing facilities and other prescribed premises on which farm animals may be kept or located. Subsections 5 (1), (2) and (3) prohibit persons from entering in or on the animal protection zones without the prior consent of the owner or occupier of the farm, facility or premises. Subsection 5 (4) prohibits persons from interfering or interacting with farm animals in or on the animal protection zones or from carrying out prescribed activities in or on the animal protection zones without the prior consent of the owner or occupier of the farm, facility or premises. Section 6 prohibits persons from interfering with a motor vehicle that is transporting farm animals and from interfering or interacting with the farm animals in the motor vehicle without the prior consent of the driver of the motor vehicle.

The Bill provides that a consent is invalid if it is obtained using duress or under false pretences in the prescribed circumstances or for the prescribed reasons.

Section 4 establishes that nothing in the Act shall be construed so as to abrogate or derogate from the protection provided for the existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples as recognized and affirmed in the Constitution Act, 1982, and clause 7 (f) provides that certain prohibitions in the Act do not apply to a person who is lawfully exercising existing aboriginal or treaty rights.

Section 8 allows the owner or occupier of a farm, animal processing facility or prescribed premises to take certain actions in situations where a person trespasses on an animal protection zone, or does any of the things prohibited by section 5. Section 9 sets out the actions that the driver of a motor vehicle transporting farm animals may take in situations where a person does anything prohibited by section 6.

Section 15 sets the maximum fine at $15,000 for a first offence under the Act and $25,000 for subsequent offences. That fine may be increased by a court in certain prescribed circumstances that increase the gravity of the offence.

Section 16 provides that, if a person is found guilty of an offence under the Act, the court may, in addition to imposing a fine under the Act, require the person found guilty to pay restitution to the owner or occupier of a farm, animal processing facility or prescribed premises or to the driver of a motor vehicle for any injury, loss or damages suffered as a result of the commission of the offence.

Section 21 sets out a two-year limitation period for the commencement of proceeding for an offence under the Act. The two-year period begins on the later of the day the offence was committed or the day on which evidence of the offence first came to the attention of a police officer.

The Bill sets out various provisions relating to the application and enforcement of the Act and the power to make regulations.

chapter 9

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

Assented to June 18, 2020

CONTENTS

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Purposes, Definitions and Application

Purposes

1 The purposes of this Act are to prohibit trespassing on farms and other properties on which farm animals are located and to prohibit other interferences with farm animals in order to,

(a) eliminate or reduce the unique risks that are created when individuals trespass on those properties or interfere with farm animals, including the risk of exposing farm animals to disease and stress as well as the risk of introducing contaminants into the food supply;

(b) protect farm animals and the food supply chain from the risks described in clause (a);

(c) protect the safety of farmers, their families and persons working in or on farms, animal processing facilities and prescribed premises as well as the safety of drivers of motor vehicles transporting farm animals; and

(d) prevent any adverse effects the risks described in clause (a) may have on Ontario’s overall economy.

Definitions

2 In this Act,

“animal processing facility” means a prescribed facility at which farm animals are processed in a prescribed manner; (“installation de transformation d’animaux”)

“animal protection zone”, with respect to a farm, animal processing facility or prescribed premises, means an area on the farm, facility or premises on which farm animals may be kept or located and that is,

(a) an enclosure for farm animals, whether or not it is marked as an animal protection zone,

(b) an area that meets prescribed requirements and is marked as an animal protection zone by the owner or occupier using signs in accordance with the regulations, or

(c) an area prescribed by the regulations as an animal protection zone for the purposes of this Act; (“zone de protection des animaux”)

“farm animal” means an animal that is raised, bred or kept on farms and is prescribed by the regulations; (“animal délevage”)

“Minister” means the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs or any other member of the Executive Council to whom responsibility for the administration of this Act is assigned or transferred under the Executive Council Act; (“ministre”)

“motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle as defined in the Highway Traffic Act; (“véhicule automobile”)

“occupier” means, with respect to a farm, animal processing facility or prescribed premises,

(a) a person who is in physical possession of the farm, facility or premises,

(b) a person who has responsibility for and control over the condition of the farm, facility or premises, the activities carried out on the farm, facility or premises or the persons who are allowed to enter the farm, facility or premises, or

(c) a person prescribed by the regulations; (“occupant”)

“prescribed” means prescribed by the regulations; (“prescrit”)

“prescribed premises” means premises at which farm animals are kept that are prescribed for the purposes of subsection 5 (3); (“lieu prescrit”)

“regulation” means a regulation made under this Act. (“règlement”)

Application

3 This Act applies to all farms, animal processing facilities and prescribed premises at which farm animals are kept except those farms, animal processing facilities and prescribed premises that are exempted from the Act by the regulations.

Existing aboriginal or treaty rights

4 For greater certainty, nothing in this Act shall be construed so as to abrogate or derogate from the protection provided for the existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada as recognized and affirmed in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.

Protecting Farm Animals from Trespass and Interference

Prohibitions re trespass, etc.

Animal farms

5 (1) No person shall enter in or on an animal protection zone on a farm without the prior consent of the owner or occupier of the farm.

Processing facilities

(2) No person shall enter in or on an animal protection zone on an animal processing facility without the prior consent of the owner or occupier of the facility.

Other animal premises

(3) No person shall enter in or on an animal protection zone on prescribed premises without the prior consent of the owner or occupier of the premises.

No interaction with farm animals

(4) No person shall interfere or interact with a farm animal in or on an animal protection zone on a farm, animal processing facility or prescribed premises, or carry out a prescribed activity in or on the animal protection zone, without the prior consent of the owner or occupier of the farm, facility or premises.

No implied consent

(5) For the purposes of subsections (1), (2), (3) and (4), prior consent of an owner or occupier shall not be inferred by a person seeking to enter in or on an animal protection zone referred to in those subsections, or to interfere or interact with a farm animal or carry out a prescribed activity in or on the animal protection zone, solely on the basis that,

(a) the owner or occupier has not prohibited the person directly, orally or in writing, from entering the animal protection zone, from interfering or interacting with a farm animal or carrying out the prescribed activity or has not otherwise objected to the person’s presence; or

(b) no signs have been erected on the farm, animal processing facility or prescribed premises to restrict or prohibit the entry in or on the animal protection zone or the interference, interaction or prescribed activity.

Consent under duress, false pretences

(6) For the purposes of subsections (1), (2), (3) and (4), consent to entering in or on an animal protection zone, to interfering or interacting with farm animals or to carrying out prescribed activities is invalid if it is obtained from the owner or occupier of the relevant farm, animal processing facility or prescribed premises using duress or under false pretences in the prescribed circumstances or for the prescribed reasons and a consent so obtained shall be deemed not to have been given.

Animal protection zone signs

(7) No person shall deface, alter, damage or remove any signs that have been posted on a farm, animal processing facility or prescribed premises to demarcate an animal protection zone or...