Agriculture This Week: Few things are purely black and white

When it comes to politics – especially at the federal government level – few things are ever as black and white as we might like. Take for example Bill C-275, the private member’s bill to amend the Health of Animals Act, which would increase fines for those who unlawfully enter livestock barns and processing facilities. The bill — which arose from a 2019 incident in his riding when about 40 people entered a free-range turkey barn near Fort Macleod — manoeuvred through Parliament by Conservative agriculture critic John Barlow, would seem pretty straight forward, a bill to protect farm operations from unauthorized people entering their facilities. But, the bill leaves questions too. To begin with there are laws against break and enter and even trespass so do you need a new level of protection under the Health of Animals Act? Or, do you just need to make use of the laws and regulations which already exist? The answer to better protection is not always more laws. Now, in the case