Proposed Animal Health Legislation for Ontario
June 18, 2009 IntroductionTo help boost the economic competitiveness of the agri-food sector, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) is considering farm animal health and traceability initiatives, including the development of legislation that would provide a broad framework for animal health and traceability initiatives in the province. If introduced and passed, the proposed legislation would better protect the economy, animal health and public health. The proposed legislation would help farmers by improving detection and response to animal health risks. These improvements would help support the competitiveness of the livestock and poultry industries, enhance consumer confidence in Ontario food, and contribute to market access, supporting the entire agri-food chain – producers, processors and retailers. An effective animal health system must be able to manage risks to the industry and to human health. Serious animal diseases could:
In addition, some diseases, called zoonotic diseases, can cross between animals and humans with potentially serious impacts to public health. Ontario’s current animal health system includes provincial and federal government programs, private sector initiatives, and supporting animal health expertise, academic research such as provided by the University of Guelph’s Animal Health Lab. However, we recognize we need to do more in the area of animal health and keep pace with leading jurisdictions. The Ministry would use the experiences of other jurisdictions, including other provinces, to inform the development of any legislative initiative. OMAFRA is considering a proposal for a provincial statute that would strengthen Ontario’s ability to manage animal health events. The goal of this proposed legislation is to enhance the competitiveness of Ontario’s agri-food industry and further safeguard the province from the negative health and economic impacts associated with animal health events. In particular, the proposed legislation would also assist in minimizing disruption to the livestock and poultry industry when these events occur. If introduced and passed by the Legislature, the proposed legislation would provide a broad and enabling framework for the protection and promotion of animal health in Ontario. It would broadly apply to all animals in the province with a focus on those animals used for agriculture purposes. The statute would ensure that we can detect and respond to hazards and would also enable the development of regulations under the Act. Over the long-term, provisions may be enabled to support traceability, biosecurity measures, and livestock medicines. In 2006, OMAFRA proposed an animal health strategy to increase the long term viability of the livestock and poultry industry by protecting the province from risks to animal health. A province-wide consultation was held with stakeholders, the majority of whom expressed support for the strategy and highlighted the need for provincial animal health legislation. Since the 2006 consultation, Ministry staff have further developed the animal health strategy and a proposal for legislation. This paper outlines key elements of the proposed legislation for stakeholder review and comment. Please note that the passage of all legislation for Ontario, including a prospective animal health statute, is the exclusive authority of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The Ministry’s role in this regard is limited to the development of options for the Legislature to consider. Before proposed legislation becomes law, it must be passed and brought into force at such time as determined by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The Ministry is interested in your response to the following question: If passed, would the proposed legislation, give the government and industry the necessary tools to reduce risks to animal health? If not, what tools are missing to assist government and industry managing the risks to animal health? Feedback received from this paper will be reviewed and examined as the Ministry develops prospective legislative options. Your input, advice, views and suggestions are important to ensuring that appropriate measures are considered to improve animal and public health in Ontario. The Ministry requests your written input by July 20, 2009: Proposed Animal Health Legislation
for Ontario Fax: 519-826-3492 E-mail: animal.health@ontario.ca Phone:
877-424-1300 This is a public consultation. TAKE NOTICE THAT:
The collection, use and disclosure of personal information by OMAFRA is necessary to conduct public consultation on proposed animal health legislation for Ontario. Comments provided by individuals on their own behalf may be used and disclosed by OMAFRA to assist OMAFRA in evaluating the responses to the questions posed in this paper. Information that identifies an individual, such as a name and address, will not be disclosed by the Ministry unless required by law. Questions about the collection, use and disclosure of information can be directed to the Information Management & Privacy Coordinator, Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs, 1 Stone Rd W, Guelph ON N1G 4Y2, Tel.: 519-826-3822. What is the purpose and scope of the prospective legislation?If introduced and passed by the Legislature, the proposed legislation would give the province clear authorities to protect and promote animal health. The main purpose would be to establish a modern framework for animal health management in Ontario that would provide for:
It is proposed that the scope of the legislation be broad and enabling, meaning that the government would be able to develop regulations necessary to deal with future concerns. If passed, it would have broad application to cover all animals in the province, with a focus on those raised for agricultural purposes (for food and other uses). This broad scope is proposed as all animals can potentially pass on hazards to humans or farmed animals. There would also be the ability to take action to control other things that may transmit hazards including:
The proposed legislation is not intended to duplicate existing provincial legislation for wildlife and animal welfare. If introduced and passed, the proposed legislation would cover a broad range of hazards that could affect the health of animals – not just diseases. Experience internationally has taught us that there are situations beyond animal disease such as radiological agents (e.g., nuclear contaminants) and chemical agents (e.g., melamine, arsenic, dioxin) that may require action to protect animal and human health. How would the prospective legislation work?Mandatory Reporting of Hazards Common to all animal health statutes across Canada is mandatory reporting. Immediate reporting of specific diseases and hazards is critical to the timely response to hazards. Quick response reduces the spread of hazards and decreases negative impacts to animal and human health and the economy. If passed, the proposed legislation would require reporting to the Ministry when a certain hazard (e.g., a disease) is suspected to be present in, or is affecting, an animal or animal product. The proposed statute would set out who must report such hazards (e.g., animal owners, those in care or control of animals, veterinarians and operators of animal health laboratories), as well as the reporting requirements. The specific hazards that must be reported and conditions of reporting would be set out in a regulation. Some hazards would not require immediate reporting but would require occasional reporting (e.g., by animal health laboratories) to monitor the overall health of the livestock and poultry sector. Response A fundamental component of all animal health legislation is the power to respond to certain events. If passed, the proposed legislation would let the government take appropriate action to control the spread of a disease or eradicate a hazard. Specifically, it would allow the Minister, Chief Veterinarian for Ontario and inspectors to undertake a broad range of response actions upon suspicion or confirmation of a hazard. The proposed response powers would allow the Ministry to take action in a timely manner to control hazards and protect Ontario from animal health hazards including those originating from other jurisdictions. Quick response to certain hazards is critical to safeguarding the industry. For example, upon suspicion or confirmation of a significant animal disease of concern on a premise, inspectors would have authority to:
If introduced and passed, Ministry officials could also establish a surveillance zone around an affected area and could order relevant records to be produced by third parties (e.g., results from laboratories). Ministry officials would also have the powers including the ability to establish broader control areas, order the exhumation of animals, and require the production and disclosure of information from any person (not principally aimed at individuals although individuals may be affected). Destruction of animals and other related things may also be a required in some cases when it is in the best interest of animal and human health. This determination would be made by the Ministry on a case-by-case basis. If introduced and passed, the proposed legislation would enable the Minister to award compensation for direct losses to persons following decisions or directions made by authorized persons. In what areas could the government consider making regulations in the future?If introduced and passed, the proposed legislation would establish the framework for future regulations under the Act to continue to enhance Ontario’s animal health system. In particular, the Ministry could develop future regulations in the following areas: 1. Traceability Traceability is a valuable component of a strong animal health system and is a vital tool for safeguarding the economic future of a sector during an animal health event and can support market access and competitiveness. The ability to trace movement forward and backward through the supply chain, and identify premises and animals (e.g., tracking the premise-to-premise movement of all offspring of a cow), assists in the preparedness for, and response to, animal health hazards. The Province has been encouraging the development of voluntary traceability systems and will continue these efforts. In the future, traceability could be formally established through a regulation under the proposed legislation and could include:
2. Disease Prevention, Control and Monitoring If introduced and passed, the proposed legislation would contain regulation-making authority to allow for disease prevention (biosecurity), control and monitoring measures to minimize the entry or spread of hazards (into the province, within premises or between premises) if warranted, or on request from industry stakeholders. These measures may be general in nature, or may be established for specific species, premises or hazards, depending on the circumstances. 3. Animal Health Promotion The handling of farmed animals and the condition of their environment can have a direct impact on the health of the animals. The purpose of the regulation-making authority would be to promote adequate care and handling and facility standards for farmed animals, where necessary, to support the health of the animals. If introduced and passed, the proposed legislation would allow for the establishment of regulations governing animal handling practices, and standards for any premises for farmed animals in Ontario. Regulations could establish standards on farm and at other locations where farmed animals assemble, including at sales barns, assembly yards and during transport. 4. Livestock Medicines Medicines for livestock and poultry play an important role in the long-term health of the farmed animal population in Ontario. The proposed animal health legislation would include powers to regulate livestock medicines such as those that currently exist under the Livestock Medicines Act. What might some of the administrative features of the prospective legislation be?1. Licensing, Registration and Permits If introduced and passed, the proposed legislation could include provisions to revoke and replace other legislation related to livestock medicines, beekeeping and disease monitoring at sales barns. To incorporate these, the proposed legislation would allow for licensing or registration of certain activities. The proposed legislation may also authorize the Minister or another official to issue permits for designated activities that are outside the normal course, such as transporting an infected animal from one premise to another. The proposed legislation would also authorize certification and the establishment of requirements for obtaining certification in specific areas. 2. Offences and Penalties If introduced and passed, a breach of a provision under the proposed legislation or its regulations, or a failure to follow an order would be an offence. Making a false statement to an inspector or impeding the activities of an inspector could also constitute an offence. If passed, the proposed legislation would also set out a range of appropriate penalties that a court could apply upon first and subsequent convictions of a person, including monetary fines, and, for significant or repeat offences, imprisonment. Such measures could be critical to ensuring compliance during an outbreak of an animal health disease. 3. Information Collection, Use and Disclosure In order to effectively protect and promote animal health,
officials need to access relevant information quickly and be able to share that
information with other officials who need it to respond to the issue. If
passed, the proposed legislation may authorize ministry officials to collect,
use and disclose information regarding animal health, including the ownership,
location and status of animals, farms and production and primary processing premises
for foods of animal origin, as well as records pertaining to the health of an
animal (e.g., a veterinarian’s treatment records). 4. Third Party Delegation and Delivery If introduced and passed, the proposed legislation would allow third parties to administer certain portions of the proposed legislation and regulations under the designation and oversight of the Ministry.
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