Image by Petra Roth from Pixabay

We are pleased to share this update about legislation to make Canada “Cruelty-Free” regarding testing on animals from the Animal Alliance of Canada.

From Animal Alliance of Canada:

The legislation to make Canada ‘Cruelty-Free’ regarding cosmetics testing on animals is now written. Let’s thank Canada’s Prime Minister and Minister of Health.

Email two important decision-makers:

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: Email:  pm@pm.gc.ca

The Minister of Health, The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos: Email: jean-yves.duclos@parl.gc.ca

We only need to state:  “We appreciate your support for making Canada Cruelty-Free regarding cosmetic testing on animals, and we look forward to the successful passage of the legislation.”

We often urge you, our followers and allies, to pressure our leaders to do better for animals. Now, it’s time to provide a ‘Thank You’ for a positive step we’ve been working toward for so long.

It’s important for political leaders to know that we animal advocates recognize positive actions when they occur. That’s why I am asking you to take just a few minutes to send a brief email of thanks to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canada’s Minister of Health, The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos. Let them know that we are grateful that Canada will join 40 other countries world-wide who have banned this practice. 

Cruelty-Free legislation – incorporated in the Budget Implementation Act.

I am confident that Canada’s Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act will be completed because the legislation, which is incorporated in the Budget Implementation Act, is at Third Reading in Parliament and is also being considered by the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance.

Working in collaboration 

We were able to establish a coalition to advance the passage of the legislation. The collective of our organizations consists of a broad range of stakeholders which includes members of the cosmetics industry (150+ companies represented by Cosmetics Alliance Canada), animal protection advocates (Animal Alliance Canada, Cruelty Free International, Humane Society International and Humane Society International/Canada), and retailer partners (Lush Cosmetics North America, and The Body Shop). This approach worked well as we were able to show the government that the legislation was supported by industry, retailers, and animal advocates.

A hard-fought effort for animals used in research

At Animal Alliance of Canada we’ve been working to end the use of animals in research and testing since our very beginning in 1990.

For more than a decade, we’ve been the Canadian partner working with Humane Society International to ban cosmetics testing on animals in our nation. Animal Alliance has been part of an extensive team of advocates across Canada working to get this job done.

An important, incremental step

This bill is a significant step forward in our fight to reduce and end the use of animals in research in Canada. It stops: “pain, suffering or injury whether physical or mental” inflicted on animals as a result of such testing.  It reads: 

Division 28 of Part 4 amends the Food and Drugs Act to, among other things, prohibit

(a) the sale of a cosmetic unless its safety can be established without relying on data derived from a test conducted on an animal that could cause pain, suffering or injury, whether physical or mental, to the animal, subject to certain exceptions;

(b) the conduct of a test on an animal that could cause pain, suffering or injury, whether physical or mental, to the animal if the purpose of the test is to meet a legislative requirement that relates to cosmetics; and

(c) deceptive or misleading claims, on the label of or in an advertisement for a cosmetic, with respect to testing on animals.

Targeted bans like this can help move researchers toward adopting more non-animal methods in other areas as well.

The importance of this incremental step is why we are asking you to take just a few minutes to send a short email to let our political leaders know that we take note of their positive action for animals, and are thankful for their support of Canada becoming a more humane nation.

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From Animal Alliance of Canada, email communication, June 8, 2023