Ontario's animal welfare agency has notified the provincial government that it will no longer investigate and enforce animal cruelty laws.
In a letter Monday to Community Safety Minister Sylvia Jones, the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it will not sign a new contract with the province after the current one expires at the end of March.
The letter, obtained by The Canadian Press, said the OSPCA will offer a three-month transition phase, by way of contract, until June 28. MacDonald said the organization will shift into a support role in animal cruelty investigations, providing animal shelter, forensic evidence collection and veterinary services.
Its role came into question in early January when an Ontario court found the OSPCA's powers to be unconstitutional and gave the government a year to remedy the situation. The judge said the province erred when it gave police powers to a private organization without imposing accountability and transparency standards on the agency.MacDonald said the court's ruling was the "catalyst" in its move away from animal cruelty investigations.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
OSPCA tells Ontario government it will no longer enforce animal cruelty lawsOntario's animal welfare agency has notified the provincial government that it will no longer investigate and enforce animal cruelty laws.
Read more »
OSPCA tells Ontario government it is no longer investigating, enforcing animal cruelty lawsThe group’s CEO Kate MacDonald says the organization will shift into a support role in animal cruelty investigations, providing animal shelter, forensic evidence collection and veterinary services
Read more »
OSPCA tells Ontario government it will no longer enforce animal cruelty lawsOntario's animal welfare agency has notified the provincial government that it will no longer investigate and enforce animal cruelty laws.
Read more »
OSPCA tells Ontario government it is no longer investigating, enforcing animal cruelty lawsThe group’s CEO Kate MacDonald says the organization will shift into a support role in animal cruelty investigations, providing animal shelter, forensic evidence collection and veterinary services
Read more »
Animal-cruelty trial: Owner says he came home to find dog in critical distressDUNCAN, B.C. — A man accused of animal cruelty told an SPCA officer he had been away from home for several months and had returned a week earlier to find his dog with an extremely swollen hea…
Read more »
Ontario consults on gender wage gap law, asks for business inputOntario is gathering feedback on legislation aimed at eliminating the gender wage gap, including asking businesses how onerous pay transparency reporting would be.
Read more »
Marni Soupcoff: Ontario’s ‘racialized law’ debate is based on bad researchThe study based its survey conclusions on the responses of 3,237 self-selected lawyers and paralegals. The other 40,000 chose not to participate
Read more »