Response to ADAV’s Petition to the Government of Canada
The government of Canada has issued a response to ADAV’s petition calling upon our government to follow the lead of the European Parliament and commit to phasing out the use of animals in all research. We had 4,190 signatures. The petition was presented to the House of Commons by Elizabeth May. It seems there is a glimmer of hope and we might follow the European’s lead, eventually. We have to keep the petitions coming!
Response by the Minister of Health
Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): Adam van Koeverden
The Government of Canada recognizes that Canadians are concerned about the wellbeing of animals and the potential harm caused by using them in research. It is for this reason that the Government is taking concrete actions to reduce the use of animals in research and testing. The Government has introduced amendments to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA) in Bill S-5 that includes provisions to encourage reduced reliance on vertebrate animal testing and promote research towards the development of scientifically sound non-animal testing methods. The Government is also working to introduce legislation to ban the testing of cosmetics on animals.
To ensure that decisions continue to be supported by the best available scientific evidence and to support the phase-out of animals in toxicity testing, scientists at Health Canada are working with the scientific community worldwide to develop and implement effective non-animal models and to use state of the art technology, such as computational approaches or cultured human cells, to replace animal models of human disease.
The Government of Canada is committed to supporting scientific efforts to reduce the need for animal experiments and to replace animal models with appropriate and validated non-animal alternatives. Like many of our international counterparts, the Government will continue taking steps towards phasing out testing on animals in research, so that decisions that impact the health of Canadians remain supported by the best available science.
