Animal lovers coast to coast are celebrating the beginning of the end of cosmetic testing on animals in Canada.
The 2023 federal budget bill tabled this week confirmed the government’s commitment to banning cosmetics animal testing and trade.
Various animal rights groups, including Humane Society International, Animal Alliance Canada and Cruelty Free International are encouraging the Canadian government to fulfill its mandate by introducing this legislation at the earliest opportunity.
“Parliament is finally taking a stand against the needless pain and suffering associated with cosmetic testing on animals,” said Barbara Cartwright, CEO of Humane Canada, in a statement.
“It’s been nearly a decade in the making but clearly this government is committed to getting the job done.”
The Cruelty-free cosmetics Act came via the Senate in 2015, but died in the House of Commons in 2019.
Nonetheless, it started a national conversation on the subject, and thousands of Canadians made it clear to government they wanted the practice banned.
Humane Canada has stated that it supports a simple framework, which, if passed, would prohibit: testing cosmetics on animals in Canada; selling cosmetics that rely on animal testing data to establish the product’s safety, with some exceptions; and false or misleading labelling pertaining to the testing of cosmetics on animals.
The government’s commitment to reduce and prohibit animal testing means that Canada will soon join the more than 40 countries world-wide that have enacted laws banning cosmetic testing on animals.