End of Bill C-355: What It Means and What You Can Do
Knowing that the recent election call has pushed Bill C-355 off the table, many distraught supporters are wondering what’s next and whether there can be any movement forward for the horses, any time soon.
MP Tim Louis’ Private Member’s Bill traveled successfully through the House of Commons, passed, and was in the process of being considered by the Senate, only to be obliterated by Parliamentary events. This is extremely disappointing, especially in view of all the work done by supportive politicians and horse advocates to move the Bill forward. Meanwhile, horses loaded into crates for air transport to Japan continue to suffer and die.
But our fight is far from over. We will not give up battling for what is right. No matter which political party becomes the ruling one in Canada, we can push for a regulatory change in order to end the exports. Public support is very clearly on our side, with polls and petitions showing unprecedented numbers of Canadian citizens expressing compassion for the horses. Our politicians cannot afford to ignore this.
With an election pending, it is important to know how various parties have voted in the past on horse and animal issues. According to our observations, many members of the Conservative Party have not shown, over the years, any appreciable empathy for the plight of horses or for animal welfare in general. On the other hand, the Liberal Party sought to end the cruel exports and, albeit slowly, took steps to achieve that goal. The progress unfortunately was too slow. Members of the New Democratic Party and Green Party have been supportive of ending the exports. The Bloc’s stance has been non-committal and somewhat unclear.
We can keep the above facts in mind when we cast our vote. An important consideration is also that, according to current statistics, the race for a new leader seems have narrowed to become one between the Liberals and Conservatives. Your vote could prove to be pivotal in swinging the momentum in a preferred direction.
We can continue to lobby our MPs, Prime Minister Mark Carney, and Agriculture Minister Kody Blois, keeping the issue on their radar. When contacting your MP, you might wish to point out the party’s history on animal/horse welfare and ask something like, “This is how your party voted in the past. What is your position?”
A letter can be sent to PM Carney here: Contact the Prime Minister | Prime Minister of Canada.Agriculture Minister Kody Blois can be reached at:
You can find contact information for your MP here: https://www.ourcommons.ca/Members/en/search. Parliament is now dissolved, but if your MP is seeking re-election, you can let them know that you expect to see support for the issues that are important to you, including animal welfare, if they want to have your vote.
Keep fighting alongside us, horse defenders! Our battle will not end until protection is achieved for the horses.
And the horses deserve to have you standing strong by their side.
