Bill S-234 explained in plain English
An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (cruelty-free cosmetics)
Federal Parliament bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Parliament of Canada snapshot for 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. MP vote breakdowns appear when the House of Commons publishes a recorded division export for that bill. Senate and House stage details include official debate/sitting links when LEGISinfo publishes them.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill S-234 would amend the Food and Drugs Act to prohibit cosmetic animal testing in Canada and ban the sale of cosmetics developed or manufactured using such testing, with limited exceptions authorized by the Minister.
Bill S-234, titled the Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act, proposes to change Canadian federal law to stop cosmetic animal testing and prevent the sale of cosmetics made using animal testing in Canada. Currently, the Food and Drugs Act sets rules for cosmetics sold in Canada but does not specifically address animal testing. This bill would add new rules to that Act. The bill defines "cosmetic animal testing" as putting any cosmetic or cosmetic ingredient onto a live non-human vertebrate animal or inside its body to check if the product is safe or works as intended for developing or making a cosmetic. The bill would: - Make it illegal for anyone to conduct or cause cosmetic animal testing to happen in Canada. - Prohibit selling any cosmetic that was developed or manufactured using cosmetic animal testing in Canada after the law takes effect. - Allow the Minister (the government official responsible for health) to authorize cosmetic animal testing only in specific situations: when the testing is needed to evaluate proven human health problems linked to a cosmetic or ingredient that is widely used, and when no other cosmetic or ingredient could do the same job instead. - Allow the government to make regulations that treat certain drugs as cosmetics for purposes of this section. The bill is currently at second reading in the Senate, meaning it has passed a first reading and is being debated before a second vote.
- Adds a definition of 'cosmetic animal testing' to the Food and Drugs Act as applying or administering any cosmetic or cosmetic ingredient to a live non-human vertebrate animal to evaluate safety or efficacy for developing or manufacturing a cosmetic
- Prohibits any person from conducting or causing cosmetic animal testing to be conducted in Canada
- Prohibits the sale of cosmetics that were developed or manufactured using cosmetic animal testing in Canada after the law comes into force
- Allows the Minister to authorize cosmetic animal testing by regulation when justified to evaluate documented specific human health problems associated with a widely-used cosmetic or ingredient that cannot be replaced by an alternative
- Gives the Governor in Council the power to designate drugs as cosmetics for the purpose of this section by regulation
- Cosmetic manufacturers and distributors in Canada who would be prohibited from conducting or selling cosmetics developed or manufactured using animal testing
- Ingredient suppliers who develop cosmetic ingredients
- The Minister of Health (or relevant minister) who would have authority to grant exceptions to the animal testing prohibition in specific circumstances
- Consumers in Canada who purchase cosmetics
- No person is permitted to conduct or cause cosmetic animal testing to be conducted in Canada (Section 16.1(1))
- No person may sell a cosmetic that was developed or manufactured using cosmetic animal testing in Canada after the law comes into force (amended Section 16)
- The Minister may authorize cosmetic animal testing by regulation only when justified to evaluate substantiated specific human health problems associated with a widely-used cosmetic or ingredient that cannot be replaced by an alternative (Section 16.1(2))
- The prohibition on selling cosmetics developed or manufactured using cosmetic animal testing applies 'after the coming into force of this paragraph' but no specific commencement date is stated in the bill text
- The bill does not contain information about financial or tax impacts
- The bill text does not specify enforcement mechanisms or penalties for violations; these would be found in the existing Food and Drugs Act enforcement provisions
- The bill does not specify a commencement date for when the provisions take effect
- The bill does not explain how the Minister will determine whether a cosmetic or ingredient is 'in wide use' for purposes of the exception
- The bill does not explain how the Minister will determine whether a problem is 'substantiated' or what standards of evidence will apply
- The bill does not specify whether the ministerial authorization process will be published or transparent
- The bill does not explain how the prohibition will apply to cosmetics imported into Canada or whether imported cosmetics developed using animal testing are covered
- The enforcement mechanisms and penalties for violation are not described in the bill text
Adds a definition of cosmetic animal testing, adds a new prohibition on selling cosmetics developed using animal testing in Canada, and creates a new section 16.1 that generally prohibits cosmetic animal testing in Canada with limited ministerial exceptions
Source: Sections 2, 3, and 4 of Bill S-234
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textParliamentary Process
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
On June 18, 2015, the Senate conducted routine business, introduced Bill S-234 for first reading, debated and processed other bills, and received Royal Assent for multiple pieces of legislation.
This document records the proceedings of the Senate on June 18, 2015. It details various procedural matters including the tabling of reports, messages from the House of Commons, and debates on several bills. Notably, Bill S-234, an Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (cruelty-free cosmetics), was introduced and read for the first time. The Senate also addressed other legislative items, including Bill C-52 (Safe and Accountable Rail Act), Bill C-61 (Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act), and Bill C-377 (Income Tax Act amendments concerning labour organizations), with significant debate and procedural motions surrounding Bill C-377. The sitting also included a ceremony for Royal Assent to several bills.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Consideration in committee yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Report stage yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
Debate and sitting links point to official parliamentary sources when LEGISinfo publishes them. Any plain-language discussion summaries should be generated from those official texts and reviewed before public display.
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced