[37] Bill 105 Original (PDF)
Bill 105 2002
An Act to protect
puppies and other animals
from cruelty by amending the
Ontario Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals Act
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:
1. The Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act is amended by adding the following heading immediately before section 1:
PART I
DEFINITIONS
2. Section 1 of the Act is amended by adding the following definitions:
"Minister" means the Minister of Public Safety and Security or such other member of the Executive Council to whom the administration of this Act is assigned by the Lieutenant Governor in Council; ("ministre")
"owner" means any person, whether an individual or a corporation, who has ownership, possession, care, custody or control of an animal, and "own" has a corresponding meaning; ("propriétaire")
3. The Act is amended by adding the following Part:
PART II
DUTIES OF OWNERS
Duties of owner, food and water
1.1 (1) An owner shall ensure that the animal has adequate food and water.
Medical attention
(2) An owner shall provide the animal with adequate medical attention when it is sick, injured, in pain or is otherwise suffering.
Protection from the elements
(3) An owner shall provide the animal with adequate protection from the elements.
Safe transportation
(4) An owner shall transport the animal in a way that ensures its safety.
Protection from distress
(5) An owner shall ensure that the animal is not in distress.
Confinement of animal
(6) An owner shall not confine the animal to an enclosure or area that is liable to be harmful to its health or well-being because the enclosure or area,
(a) is not large enough for the animal;
(b) is unsanitary;
(c) is not adequately ventilated;
(d) is in a state of disrepair or otherwise presents a danger to the animal;
(e) contains other animals that may present a danger to the animal.
Exercise
(7) Where an animal is confined to an enclosure or area, an owner shall ensure that the animal is provided with an opportunity for exercise, including exercise outside the enclosure or area.
4. The Act is amended by adding the following heading immediately before section 2:
PART III
THE ONTARIO SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
5. Section 9 of the Act is amended by striking out "The lands and buildings of the Society are exempt from taxation" at the beginning and substituting "The lands and buildings of the Society and its affiliated societies are exempt from taxation".
6. Section 10 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
Prohibition
10. Except for the Society and its affiliated societies, no society, association or group of individuals, whether incorporated or not, shall use the name "Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals", the abbreviation "SPCA" or any other similar abbreviation or hold itself out as being affiliated or otherwise associated with the Society.
7. The Act is amended by adding the following heading immediately before section 11:
PART IV
ENFORCEMENT
8. Subsection 11 (3) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
Police powers
(3) A police officer may exercise any of the powers of an inspector or agent of the Society anywhere in Ontario.
9. The Act is amended by adding the following section:
Obstruction
11.1 No person shall obstruct, hinder or otherwise interfere with an agent or inspector of the Society who is carrying out his or her duties or exercising his or her powers under the Act.
10. (1) Subsection 12 (1) of the Act, as amended by the Statutes of Ontario, 1997, chapter 39, section 11, is repealed and the following substituted:
Search warrant
(1) Where a justice of the peace or provincial judge is satisfied by information on oath that there are reasonable grounds for believing that there is an animal in distress in any building or place, other than a public place, he or she may issue a warrant authorizing an inspector or agent of the Society named in it to enter the building or place, either alone or accompanied by a veterinarian, and inspect the building or place and any animals found there for the purpose of ascertaining whether any of those animals are in distress.
(2) Section 12 of the Act, as amended by the Statutes of Ontario, 1997, chapter 39, section 11, is amended by adding the following subsection:
Tele-warrant
(1.1) Where an agent or inspector of the Society or a police officer believes that it would be impracticable to appear personally before a justice of the peace or provincial judge to apply for a warrant under subsection (1), he or she may, in accordance with the regulations, seek the warrant by telephone or other means of telecommunication, and the justice of the peace or the provincial judge may, in accordance with the regulations, issue the warrant by the same means.
(3) Subsection 12 (4) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
When warrant to be executed
(4) Every warrant issued under subsection (1) or (1.1) shall be executed between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. standard time unless the justice or provincial judge authorizes its execution at night.
11. Subsection 13 (6) of the Act is amended by striking out "any building or place in which the animal is located" and substituting "any building or place, other than a dwelling place, in which the animal is located".
12. The Act is amended by adding the following heading immediately before section 14:
PART V
ATTENDING TO THE ANIMAL
13. (1) Clause 14 (2) (b) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
(b) where a veterinarian has examined the animal and has advised the inspector or agent in writing that the animal is ill or injured and that, in his or her opinion, the destruction of the animal is the humane course of action.
(2) Section 14 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsections:
Custody pending trial
(4) An inspector or agent may apply to a justice of the peace or a provincial judge for an order granting the Society custody of an animal in respect of which a charge has been laid under this Act until such time as the proceeding is dealt with, and the justice or judge may make any order he or she considers appropriate, including attaching terms and conditions as advisable.
Interpretation
(5) In clause (2) (a),
"owner" means the person who is the legal owner of the animal.
14. (1) Subsection 15 (2) of the Act is amended by striking out "holding the balance in trust for the owner or other person entitled thereto" at the end.
(2) Section 15 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsections:
Balance in trust
(3) Any balance that remains after the Society has acted under subsection (2) shall be held in trust for six months.
Forfeiture of balance
(4) The owner or custodian shall be notified by personal service, or by registered mail sent to the owner's or custodian's last known address, of a balance held in trust and may claim it during the six-month period, but failure to do so results in the balance being forfeited to the Society at the end of the period.
15. (1) Subsection 16 (2) of the Act is amended by adding "one of whom shall be a licensed veterinarian" after "three persons".
(2) Subsection 16 (4) of the Act, as re-enacted by the Statutes of Ontario, 2001, chapter 9, Schedule M, section 1, is repealed and the following substituted:
Hearing by panel
(4) A proceeding before the Board shall be heard and determined by a panel consisting of one or more members of the Board, as assigned by the chair or vice-chair of the Board.
16. Section 17 of the Act, as amended by the Statutes of Ontario, 1993, chapter 27, Schedule, is amended by adding the following subsections:
Notice of appeal
(1.1) The notice of appeal shall state the grounds for the appeal and a copy of it shall be served on the Society.
. . . . .
Stay
(8) An appeal brought under this section does not stay the order appealed against unless the Board orders otherwise.
17. (1) Subsection 18 (1) of the Act is amended by striking out "judge of the Ontario Court (General Division)" and substituting "justice of the Superior Court of Justice".
(2) The English version of subsections 18 (3) and (4) of the Act are amended by striking out "judge" wherever it appears and substituting in each case "justice".
(3) Section 18 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:
Stay
(5) An appeal brought under this section does not stay the decision appealed against unless the justice orders otherwise.
18. The Act is amended by adding the following Part:
PART VI
MISCELLANEOUS
Prohibition on training to fight
20. No person shall engage in the practice of training an animal to fight another animal.
Offences, individuals
21. (1) Every individual who contravenes a provision of this Act or the regulations made under this Act is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable,
(a) in the case of a first offence, to a fine of not more than $50,000 or a term of imprisonment of not more than one year, or to both;
(b) in the case of a subsequent offence, to a fine of not more than $100,000 or a term of imprisonment of not more than two years, or to both.
Corporations
(2) Every corporation who contravenes a provision of this Act or the regulations made under this Act is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable,
(a) in the case of a first offence, to a fine of not less than $10,000 and not more than $100,000;
(b) in the case of a subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $50,000 and not more than $250,000.
Corporate directors and officers
(3) Where a corporation is guilty of an offence under this Act, any officer, director or agent of the corporation who directed, authorized, consented to or participated in the commission of the offence is guilty of the offence and on conviction is liable to the punishment provided for the offence, whether or not the corporation has been prosecuted or convicted.
Exception
(4) Despite subsections (1), (2) and (3), no owner may be convicted of an offence arising out of an alleged contravention of a provision of section 1.1 if the owner is found to have treated the animal in a manner that is,
(a) consistent with a recognized code of practice for the treatment of animals prescribed in the regulations;
(b) consistent with generally accepted practices of animal husbandry or management prescribed in the regulations; or
(c) reasonable in all the circumstances.
Custody and protection order
22. In addition to any other penalty imposed on a person arising out of that person's conviction under this Act, a court may order,
(a) that the person not own any animals for the rest of the person's lifetime or for some other period indicated in the order;
(b) that the person surrender to the Crown any or all of the animals that the person owns;
(c) that the person take the steps set out in the order for the proper care of the animals that the person owns, including but not limited to,
(i) obtaining a veterinary examination of the animals,
(ii) reducing the number of animals or the number of species of animals owned by the person,
(iii) building or modifying pens, enclosures, buildings or fences used by the person;
(d) that the person reimburse to the Crown, the Society or any other person those costs reasonably incurred by any of them in caring for an animal.
Special purpose account
23. (1) All money paid to the Crown on account of fines imposed under this Act shall be held in a separate account of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
Same
(2) Money standing to the credit of the separate account is, for the purpose of the Financial Administration Act, money paid to Ontario for a special purpose.
Payment of money in account
(3) The Minister may direct that money be paid out of the account to the Society or any person specified by the Minister if the money is to be used,
(a) to train inspectors or agents of the Society;
(b) to enforce this Act in Northern Ontario;
(c) to promote, in any manner approved by the Minister, the Society's object of facilitating and providing for the prevention of cruelty to animals and their protection and relief from cruelty.
Advisory committee
(4) The Minister may establish an advisory committee to provide him or her with advice on the operation of the account, including payments to be made out of it.
Report on account operation
(5) The Minister shall ensure that a report is prepared annually on the operation of the account, which shall include a summary of advice received from the advisory committee, if any.
Submission of report to Assembly
(6) The Minister shall submit the report to the Lieutenant Governor in Council and then lay it before the Assembly if it is in session or, if not, at the next session.
Regulations, Minister
24. The Minister may make regulations,
(a) prescribing a recognized code of practice for the treatment of animals for the purposes of clause 21 (4) (a);
(b) prescribing generally accepted practices of animal husbandry or management for the purposes of clause 21 (4) (b);
(c) prohibiting the use of practices and procedures with respect to animals;
(d) respecting standards for businesses operated by persons engaged in the business of offering for sale or selling live animals;
(e) respecting standards for kennels and catteries;
(f) respecting any matter that the Minister considers necessary or advisable to carry out the intent and purpose of this Act.
Regulations, Lieutenant Governor in Council
25. The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations respecting tele-warrants for the purposes of subsection 12 (1.1).
Commencement
19. This Act comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
Short title
20. The short title of this Act is the Animal Cruelty Prevention Act, 2002.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The Bill provides for a number of amendments to the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. In addition to a number of housekeeping changes, the Bill,
(a) defines the term "owner" to include any natural person or corporation that has ownership, possession, care, custody or control of an animal;
(b) sets out specific duties that all owners of animals must comply with;
(c) clarifies the prohibition on using the name "Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals" and the abbreviation "SPCA";
(d) provides for improved enforcement under the Act by the inclusion of provisions giving police officers the powers of inspectors and agents of the OSPCA, prohibiting interference with persons conducting inspections and providing for the obtaining of warrants for searches of premises where an inspector has reasonable grounds for believing an animal is in distress;
(e) prohibits persons from training animals to fight other animals;
(f) establishes offences for contraventions of the Act, sets out penalties and authorizes a court to make other orders for the protection of animals against convicted persons, including a lifetime ban on owning an animal;
(g) establishes a special account into which fine amounts are paid in support of better protecting animals from cruelty.