Peter A Allard School of Law

'Ag Gag' laws and the Charter -- The Fight Against Laws to Keep Farmed Animal Suffering and Abuse Hidden from Public View

Beginning in 2019, several Canadian provinces moved to adopt American-style agricultural gag, or "ag gag" laws.  These laws are designed to prevent animal protection advocates, journalists, and employee whistleblowers from obtaining and publicly releasing information and footage showing the suffering of animals at farms and slaughterhouses. Courts in the United States have repeatedly struck down ag gag laws as unconstitutional violations of the first amendment right to free speech.  In the first constitutional challenge to a Canadian ag gag law, Animal Justice recently succeeded in having key sections of Ontario's ag gag law found to be unconstitutional violations of the right to free expression. In this talk, Kaitlyn Mitchell, Animal Justice's director of legal advocacy, will explain the dangers of ag gag laws for animals, advocates, workers, and consumers, and why ag gag laws violate Canadians' Charter-protected rights to free expression.

Register here or scan the QR code below.

 


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