Bill 80 explained in plain English
Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Amendment Act, 2015
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 41st Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill 80, the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Amendment Act, 2015, prohibits the possession and breeding of orcas in Ontario and introduces new administrative requirements for animal care.
This bill amends the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the Animals for Research Act. It makes it illegal to possess or breed an orca in Ontario, with specific exceptions for those who already possessed an orca before certain dates. The bill also gives the Minister the power to make regulations about administrative requirements for animal care and allows inspectors to demand records to ensure compliance. The Animals for Research Act is updated to ensure that the prohibition on orca possession and breeding also applies to operators of registered research facilities and licensed supply facilities.
- Prohibits the possession and breeding of orcas in Ontario.
- Establishes exceptions for individuals possessing an orca before specific dates.
- Grants the Minister authority to create regulations for administrative animal care requirements.
- Empowers inspectors to request records for compliance verification.
- Extends the prohibition on orca possession and breeding to research facilities and supply facilities.
- Specifies penalties for failing to comply with orders to remove an orca from Ontario.
- Individuals or corporations possessing or breeding orcas in Ontario.
- Owners, custodians, or caretakers of animals in Ontario.
- Operators of registered research facilities and licensed supply facilities under the Animals for Research Act.
- Inspectors and agents of the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
- The Ontario Court of Justice.
- The obligation not to possess or breed an orca in Ontario, with specific exceptions.
- The obligation to comply with prescribed standards of care and administrative requirements for animals.
- The obligation to produce records or things when demanded by an inspector or agent.
- The right to possess an orca if it was possessed before March 22, 2015, or between March 23, 2015, and the date of Royal Assent, for a limited period.
- The right of the Minister to make regulations prescribing standards of care and administrative requirements.
- The right of inspectors to enter and inspect places where animals are kept.
- The right of inspectors or agents to demand records or things.
- The obligation to remove an orca from Ontario if convicted of possessing one illegally.
- The Act received Royal Assent on May 28, 2015.
- The Act came into force on the day it received Royal Assent.
- Possession of an orca is permitted if the orca was possessed on March 22, 2015.
- Possession of an orca is permitted until six months after Royal Assent if the orca was first possessed between March 23, 2015, and the date of Royal Assent.
- Individuals convicted of failing to comply with an order to remove an orca from Ontario are liable to a fine of not more than $250,000 or imprisonment for not more than two years, or both.
- Corporations convicted of failing to comply with an order to remove an orca from Ontario are liable to a fine.
- Directors or officers of corporations who authorized, permitted, or participated in the corporation's commission of the offence are liable to the same penalty as an individual.
- Individuals who fail to comply with an order to remove an orca must pay the Society's costs for bringing the application and causing the orca's removal.
- Failure to comply with an order to remove an orca from Ontario is an offence.
- Individuals convicted of failing to remove an orca face a fine of up to $250,000 or imprisonment for up to two years, or both.
- Corporations convicted of failing to remove an orca face a fine.
- Directors or officers of corporations can be held liable for the offence and face penalties.
- If a person fails to remove an orca after conviction, the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals may apply for a court order to remove the orca, and the responsible person must pay associated costs.
- The specific 'prescribed standards of care' and 'prescribed administrative requirements' are not detailed in the bill text and would be established through regulations.
- The bill does not specify the exact timeframe for inspectors or agents to demand records or things.
- The bill does not specify the exact period of time within which a court shall order an orca to be removed from Ontario, only that it shall order removal.
- The bill does not specify what constitutes 'costs' that the person must pay to the Society for bringing an application and causing the orca's removal, beyond stating they must pay any costs incurred.
Prohibits the possession and breeding of orcas, with exceptions, and allows for the creation of administrative requirements for animal care. It also clarifies inspection powers and establishes penalties for non-compliance with removal orders.
Source: Sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Ensures that the prohibition on possessing or breeding orcas, and related enforcement provisions, apply to operators of registered research facilities and licensed supply facilities.
Source: Section 9
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 textProcess Snapshot
Vote Summary
This bill does not have a published recorded division in the current official sources, so representative-by-representative vote counts are not shown.
No published representative vote breakdown
The current official sources do not publish a recorded division breakdown for this bill, so there is no representative-by-representative table to show.
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