CONTENTS
Standing Committee on The Economy
Bill No. 40 — The Animal Protection Amendment Act,
2025
THIRTIETH
LEGISLATURE
of
the
Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan
STANDING
COMMITTEE ON
Hansard Verbatim Report
No.
16 — Monday, April 27, 2026
Chair
D.
Harrison: — Welcome to
the Standing Committee on the Economy. I’m Daryl Harrison, your Chair. Chitting in for Meara Conway is Don McBean; Tajinder Grewal; Racquel Hilbert; Trent Wotherspoon is
chitting in for Sally Housser; Kevin Kasun; and Kevin Weedmark.
Bill No. 40 — The Animal
Protection Amendment Act, 2025
Clause 1
Chair D.
Harrison: — Today we’ll be considering Bill No. 40, The Animal Protection
Amendment Act, 2025. We will begin our consideration with clause 1, short
title.
Minister Marit is here with ministry officials. I would ask that
officials state their names before speaking for the first time. And please
don’t touch the microphones; the Hansard operator will turn your
microphone on when you are speaking to the committee. Minister, please make
your opening comments and introduce your officials.
Hon. David
Marit: — Thank you, Mr. Chair. With me, seated behind me is Venkata and Raj
are behind me; and Stephanie is beside me. Brady Pollock’s the
assistant deputy minister beside me. And my chief of staff, Jean-Michel is
behind me as well.
We’re here obviously to talk about The Animal Protection Amendment
Act, 2025 that amends eight existing provisions and establishes five new
sections. Much has evolved since the Act first came into force in 2018. Animal welfare
and enforcement policies in Canada continue evolving to adapt to changing trade
requirements and public expectations. Companies are developing stronger
environmental, social, and governance policies that require higher standards
for animal welfare. To support this, we are proposing amendments that will
strengthen the Act and create more transparency and public accountability.
During the consultation, responses from
stakeholders were overall very favourable. The following changes will
strengthen the Act: creation of animal welfare inspector positions; provide
authority to obtain telewarrants to relieve animal distress; provide authority
to establish agreements with the Government of Canada, provincial governments,
other ministries, local authorities, municipalities, and Indigenous communities
for the purposes of enforcement; support other provincial legislation on humane
euthanasia to respond to animal disease events and public safety; and clarify
disposition of animals and veterinarians’ ability to relieve animal distress
under the Act.
The following changes are administrative
in nature and will enhance public transparency and accountability: establishing
a code of conduct for animal protection officers and animal welfare inspectors;
establishing a chief officer position to oversee officer conduct; establishing
an administrative agreement for animal protection agencies to enforce the Act;
providing the authority to create an appeals board to adjudicate matters of
animal disposition and owner liabilities for expenses; establishing guidelines
on the use, receiving, and disclosure of information by designated agencies;
and expanding the definition of animal protection officers to include police
members as defined in The Police Act, 1990. To date, livestock industry
stakeholders have been supportive of this approach and have little to no
concerns with the proposed changes, and no major impacts to the province’s
livestock producers and animal owners are anticipated.
There’s one set of regulations under the
existing Act. The current regulations will need amendments and prescribing
certain provisions to accommodate changes in the Act. Regulations for the code
of conduct and cost of care will be established to support the Act’s
provisions. It is anticipated that the new Act and regulations could come into
force as early as January 1st, 2027.
In summary, The Animal Protection
Amendment Act, 2025 will address some of the critical gaps in enforcement
to establish better public accountability while balancing regulatory approaches
and evolving animal health welfare requirements. With that, Mr. Chair, that’s
my opening remarks. We are open for questions.
Chair
D. Harrison: — Are there questions from any other
committee members? MLA [Member of the Legislative Assembly] Wotherspoon.
Trent
Wotherspoon: —
Okay, thanks so much. Thanks, Chair, and committee members and minister and
officials that are here tonight. Certainly these are very important duties and
responsibilities, important aims around animal protection and upholding that
responsibility.
I’m interested in getting a . . .
Can you share with us who was all consulted through this process and identify
what concerns those respective stakeholders shared with you?
Hon. David
Marit: —
The list is quite lengthy. In fact it’s, I think, about two or three pages
long, but I’ll try and get through most of them.
The Chicken Farmers of Saskatchewan,
Livestock Services of Saskatchewan, Livestock Marketers, SaskMilk, Sask Pork,
Saskatchewan Bison Association, Saskatchewan Cattle Feeders Association,
Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association, Saskatchewan Cervid Alliance,
Saskatchewan Broiler Hatching Egg Producers, Saskatchewan Egg Producers,
Saskatchewan Goat Breeders Association, Saskatchewan Horse Federation,
Saskatchewan Sheep Breeders’ Association, Saskatchewan Sheep Development Board,
Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, the Turkey Farmers of Saskatchewan,
Saskatchewan Poultry Council, Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association,
Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan.
The municipal sector was obviously SARM
[Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities] and SUMA [Saskatchewan Urban
Municipalities Association], and the New North Saskatchewan Association of
Northern Communities.
From a federal level, the Ministry of
Government Relations, Advisory Services, Municipal Relations, and Community
Planning; the Ministry of Health; Canadian Food Inspection Agency; the RCMP
[Royal Canadian Mounted Police], Animal Protection Services of Saskatchewan.
The Regina Humane Society; Indigenous
Engagement unit, FSIN [Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations] and Métis
Nation Saskatchewan; Saskatchewan Marshals Service; Saskatchewan Veterinary
Medical Association; the humane societies; Western College of Veterinary
Medicine; the Veterinary Medical Centre; the Battlefords Humane Society; Meadow
Lake & District Humane Society; Wildlife Rescue Society of Saskatchewan;
Moose Jaw Humane Society; Weyburn Humane Society; Estevan Humane Society;
Saskatchewan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; North East
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; the Prince Albert Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; the Saskatoon Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals; the Humboldt and District Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals; the Swift Current society; the Yorkton society.
Also consulted with our neighbours:
British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba. That is the list of consultation. You
can see it was very, very extensive.
Trent
Wotherspoon: —
Thank you. Thank you for that, Minister. You shared that the livestock sector
has been supportive of the changes that have been brought forward. Can you
identify concerns that other folks, other entities have identified with you or
your officials?
Hon. David
Marit: — I’ll maybe
turn that over to . . . Brady can probably start, and then Stephanie
might be able to add to it.
Brady Pollock: — Brady Pollock, assistant deputy minister.
Thank you for the question. The stakeholders’ major concerns were around the
clarity for roles of some of the newly created positions, including the welfare
inspector position and the chief officer position, along with the mandate of
the appeals board and the code of conduct for the animal protection officers.
Much of that will be addressed through
the subsequent regulations that are going to be developed pursuant to the
amended Act, including the code of conduct regulations. So those are going to
be largely operational in nature and further refined during the regulatory
development process to support implementation of the Act.
Trent
Wotherspoon: —
So with respect to the concerns you’ve heard around code of conduct or
qualifications, do you feel that you’re going to be able to fully address those
concerns that have been identified with you in a satisfactory way through the
regulations and the process ahead?
Brady Pollock:
— Well there will be additional consultation in advance of finalizing those
regulations, so we’ll be able to drill a little deeper into what we did here
during the initial consultation on development of the Act. And since these will
be new regulations, we’ll be able to be responsive, depending on the nature of
concerns and additional input that we do get during those consultations.
Trent
Wotherspoon: —
What are some of the concerns you’ve heard around the concerns over
qualifications, and possibly that these changes erode or risk losing some of
the experience or some of the qualified individuals that conduct this very
important work?
Stephanie
Smith: —
Stephanie Smith, chief veterinary officer with regulatory and compliance
branch. So any concerns particularly that we heard were around understanding
the animal welfare inspector position — understanding what that means, what is
that going to look like, how does that fit within the existing structure.
In terms of losing experienced
individuals, certainly that’s not the intent behind that. It is to expand and
add additional capacity. We have seen already, you know, the existing
experienced individuals we have have been maintained within the new agency that’s
begun. We’ve had ongoing conversations around how these animal welfare
inspector positions can provide that support with experienced individuals from
industry, such as in partnership with our livestock stakeholders.
So this really is about expanding the
capacity that we do have with those positions and working jointly with the
animal protection agencies.
Trent Wotherspoon:
— And can you share which organizations were engaged in
expressing some of the concerns around the qualifications?
Stephanie Smith:
— So primarily it was the previous agency, Animal Protection Services, that
expressed questions and clarity over that duality in role. Outside of that,
individuals have been interested in working with us and to the new regulations
on what this means.
Trent
Wotherspoon: —
And so the concerns were being identified by the Sask SPCA [Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals]. Have those concerns been addressed? And do
you feel sufficiently responded to to . . . [inaudible]
. . . the concerns that they were identifying?
Hon. David
Marit: —
Yeah, I do. You know, we launched that a few weeks ago here when we had the
press release in the building here with the new agency and the new directive.
And I’m very confident. And a lot of them were in the room actually that day
when we made the announcement and were very happy that this is the direction
path that it’s gone.
Trent
Wotherspoon: —
And as far as resources and funding, have you heard concerns on that front for
the new agency? And can you describe what the funding had been and what it’ll
be this year?
Hon. David Marit: — Yeah, in fact when
we did the launch with the new organization . . . The funding will be
1.6 million, as it was last year, the same as last year, which is up
significantly from 2021‑2022, where it was 1.1. So now we’re at 1.6 in
this budget year.
Trent
Wotherspoon: —
Thanks. Did you hear a concern from officers or a desire for officers to be
better protected and have some defensive tools facing the risks that they face?
I hear concern around their own safety and just the lack of being able to
protect themself. Just wanted to hear what you’ve heard on that front and what
you’ve done on that front.
Hon. David
Marit: —
Thank you. Obviously, you know, we did have some discussion with the police
service and public safety as well on this. But some of the things we have done
to ensure the safety and well-being of APOs [animal protection officer]: the
ministry has approved the use of radios with dedicated channel frequency; dog
bite sticks and spray, with ministry-approved training; and the new policy
requires APOs to be accompanied by members of a police force when attending a
case where there are perceived safety concerns. So there’s quite a few things
that we have done to improve the safety of the officers and the police force as
well.
Trent
Wotherspoon: —
Can you speak to what the labour force looks like right now on this front and
what you envision moving forward? Do you have sufficient officers that are
trained? Or what are you doing to build that labour force?
[17:15]
Stephanie Smith:
— Sure. Certainly. So Saskatchewan Animal Enforcement Agency is now in
operation, and they had a record number of applicants when they put out their
call. So it was an incredible response. They are looking to be staffed up at 14
officers, which puts us at a very reasonable caseload: around 70, 78 cases per
officer, which is well below the typical standard across Canada.
In addition to that, I’ll note as well
the amendments in the legislation also support us by building that capacity and
working more collaboratively with all policing agencies across the province
that we are recognized as animal protection officers.
Hon. David
Marit: —
And I would just like to add one note. They just told me the interest on the
applications was unreal. Like there was hundreds of people that are interested
in it. So it’s good.
Trent
Wotherspoon: —
It’s my understanding there’s not any funding on the animal protection side for
the Regina Humane Society. Is that correct? Who fulfills this responsibility in
the city limits of Regina?
Hon. David
Marit: —
The Regina Humane Society fulfills that themselves, yeah.
Trent
Wotherspoon: —
And what’s the rationale for not providing any funding for that service?
Hon. David
Marit: —
That’s their choice. That’s what they want. Like Saskatoon doesn’t have it now,
all falls under . . . But this is Regina’s choice to have the Humane
Society do it.
Trent Wotherspoon: — Right. And this
new agency takes that over in Saskatoon, those responsibilities, but you’re
funding that, correct? It just seems to me that maybe there’s a bit of an
inequity on this front to not provide a bit of funding. You’re funding it for
the rest of the province. Regina Humane Society fulfills that role in a very
strong way with lots of integrity. But I’m just wondering where the
consideration is to provide them a bit of funding.
Hon. David
Marit: —
Yeah, it’s actually a very mutual collaboration. I know when the new agency was
formed, the Humane Society was consulted, and they were confident, you know,
where they were. One thing we do for them is all the training of all their
APOs. We paid for all that. That’s one thing we do, yeah.
Trent
Wotherspoon: —
Okay. Listen, I don’t believe I have any further questions at this time with
respect to this bill. And thanks to you all for the time.
Hon. David
Marit: —
Thank you.
Chair
D. Harrison: — Are there any other questions from
committee members? Seeing none, we will proceed to the vote on the clauses.
Clause 1, short title, is that agreed?
Some
Hon. Members: — Agreed.
Chair
D. Harrison: — Carried.
[Clause 1 agreed to.]
[Clauses
2 to 16 inclusive agreed to.]
Chair
D. Harrison: — His Majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, enacts as follows: The
Animal Protection Amendment Act, 2025.
I would ask a member to move that we
report Bill No. 40, The Animal Protection Amendment Act, 2025
without amendment. MLA Kasun has moved. Is that agreed?
Some
Hon. Members: — Agreed.
Chair
D. Harrison: — Carried. Minister, do you have any
closing comments?
Hon. David
Marit: —
No, I just want to thank the team for a lot of work. And you can see the
consultation process was very, very extensive, and good work by everybody. And
I think we landed in a very good spot with The Animal Protection Act and
with the agency that is moving forward as well. Very good spot.
Chair
D. Harrison: — Okay, thank you, Minister. MLA
Wotherspoon, do you have any closing comments?
Trent
Wotherspoon: —
Just real briefly, thanks, Mr. Chair. Thanks, committee members. Thanks to the
minister and the officials for the time here tonight and the work on this front
and the important undertakings that they’ve committed themself to.
Chair
D. Harrison: — Thank you to the minister and all your
officials. And thanks to my Clerk and Hansard. And thanks to my committee
for coming out tonight.
That concludes our business for today. I
would ask a member to move a motion of adjournment. MLA Hilbert has moved. All
agreed?
Some
Hon. Members: — Agreed.
Chair
D. Harrison: — Carried. This committee stands
adjourned to the call of the Chair.
[The committee adjourned at 17:22.]
Published
under the authority of the Hon. Todd Goudy, Speaker
Disclaimer:
The electronic versions of the Legislative Assembly’s
documents are provided on this site for informational purposes only. The Clerk
is responsible for the records of each legislature.