‘Ag gag’ law protects industry and hides animal cruelty

This is my 24th opinion article for the Toronto Star. Over the past four years, my work for the Star and other publications has focused on animal issues, food production, climate change and veganism.

I’ve written about the rise in popularity of plant-based meats. I’ve called out deception in dairy marketing and Canada’s archaic farmed animal transport regulations. I’ve debated whether there is such thing as “humane meat” (no).

And I’ve written a great deal about animal cruelty, especially in agriculture.

A lot of these stories have only come to be as a result of important insights gained by activists and undercover investigators, those willing to get up close to see what the industry works hard to hide, those now deemed by the Ontario government to be acting illegally.

Since December 2020, when Bill 156, the Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act came into force, it has been illegal for undercover investigators to enter farms or slaughterhouses “under false pretenses.”

This means anyone working with an animal protection group who gets a job in animal agriculture, without disclosing that affiliation (a common strategy in undercover work), can be charged. It’s also illegal for activists to gather crucial footage of animals suffering on transport trucks, one of the only moments when farmed animals ever come into public view.

According to advocacy group Animal Justice, this ag gag legislation interferes with the Charter right to freedom of expression. It certainly impedes my ability to express, and to do the work that I do. So I have joined Animal Justice, and Toronto activist Louise Jorgensen, as a co-applicant in their constitutional challenge against the Ontario government.

We are suing the province of Ontario for creating a law that protects industry, persecutes advocates, obstructs media freedom and covers up animal cruelty.

The legal action, spearheaded by Animal Justice, argues that “one of the primary sources of information underlying complaints to law enforcement about mistreatment of farmed animals has been information, images, or footage that is covertly obtained by employee whistleblowers, animal advocates, or journalists.”

In recent years, similar ag gag laws in the U.S. have been challenged, deemed unconstitutional and overturned. That is what we expect to happen here. But Ontario isn’t the only province with ag gag legislation. Alberta was the first, hastily passing Bill 27 in 2019. P.E.I. also just passed a law that unfairly targets animal advocates entering farms. And Manitoba is likely next.

Stories of hidden animal suffering deserve to be told, and journalists like myself should have the right to tell them.

Our lawsuit is the very first to challenge the constitutionality of an ag gag law in Canada. But you can be sure it will not be the last.