Support needed now for Bill C-246 Modernizing Animal Protections Act
The Need for Change is Now! CVMA Asks for Your Support for Bill C-246
The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association is asking veterinary professionals to help ensure Bill C-246 passes the September 28 vote by contacting local MPs to encourage them to vote in favour of the Bill.
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Tanya Frye CVMA
The Need for Change is Now! CVMA Asks for Your Support for Bill C-24 (http://www.canadianveterinarians.net/news-events/news/your-support-c246)
The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) has sent a letter to federal Members of Parliament (MP) requesting support-in-principle for Bill C-246, the Modernizing Animal Protections Act. (Read more).
The CVMA understands that amendments to the Bill have recently been proposed that would allow it to achieve meaningful outcomes for the protection of animals while addressing areas of concerns brought forward by some concerned citizens and others. (Read More)
The Bill is going to vote once again on September 28, 2016. If the vote is successful, the Bill and proposed amendments will be discussed during subsequent Parliamentary committee meetings in which CVMA is expected to participate. CVMA is now asking you as a veterinary professional to help ensure the Bill passes the September 28 vote by contacting your local MP to encourage them to vote in favour of the Bill.
Please use the letter template provided below to save and send as an e-mail or place in the mail. The postage of letters to your MP’s Parliament Hill office is free. We encourage you to also set up a meeting with your local MP to express your support in person.
- Letter template (when sending the letter, please include your postal code to ensure a response)
- Find your local MP here or call 1-800-622-6232 to find his or her contact information.
CVMA Requests Your Support for Bill C-246, the Modernizing Animal Protections Act
Web News link: http://www.canadianveterinarians.net/news-events/news/letter-writing-your-support-for-bill-c-246
In May 2016, the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) sent a letter expressing support-in-principle for Bill C-246, the Modernizing Animal Protections Act, to each federal Member of Parliament (MP). (Read more)
CVMA is now requesting that you as a CVMA member and a veterinary professional stand alongside our association in demonstrating support for the bill by using the template below to draft a letter to your local MP.
As veterinarians, we are often the first professionals to examine an abused animal. Effective legislation is an important tool to help those who deal with abused animals, including humane societies and law enforcement agencies. There is overwhelming evidence of a direct link between animal abuse and violence towards people, especially family members—including children, spouses, and elders. Therefore, legislation that deals more effectively with cruelty to animals may help play a role in breaking the cycles of violence that occur in some communities. [Excerpt from the letter template]
As you may be aware, on June 9, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled 6-1 that some acts of bestiality are legal in Canada and that only acts of penetration are punishable under our current animal cruelty provisions. Bill C-246 addresses this loophole as it includes a definition of bestiality (“sexual conduct between a person and an animal”).
Since 1998, CVMA has been involved in efforts to modernize and strengthen the Criminal Code to better protect animals. Some key areas of CVMA contribution include written input to the Justice Department’s consultation paper on Crimes Against Animals (December 1998), and oral presentations to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights (support of Bill C-15B, October 2001) and the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs (objections to S-213, December 2006).
Below you will find a link to the letter template that you may wish to save and send as an e-mail or place in the mail. The postage of letters to your MP’s Parliament Hill office is free. We encourage you to also set up a meeting with your local MP to express your support in person.
The Need for Change is Now!
• Letter template (when sending the letter, please include your postal code to ensure a response)
• Find your local MP here or call 1-800-622-6232 to find his or her contact information.
If you have any questions about the campaign, please feel free to call or e-mail.
Tanya Frye
Acting Manager, Communications and Public Relations / Gestionnaire par intérim, Communications et relations publiques
Canadian Veterinary Medical Association / Association canadienne des médecins vétérinaires
339, rue Booth Street, Ottawa (Ontario) K1R 7K1
t: 613-236-1162 x 128 / 800-567-2862 f: 613-236-9681 e: tfrye@cvma-acmv.org
www.canadianveterinarians.net
www.veterinairesaucanada.net