Working Group on Animals in the Law and Humanities (Sarah Berger Richardson)

Working Group on Animals in the Law and Humanities  Presents:

Guest: Sarah Berger Richardson

Title: Behind Closed Doors: Humane Handling Violations and the Shadow of Regulatory Transparency in Canadian Slaughterhouses

Abstract: The constitutionality of ag-gag laws - anti-whistleblower provisions that restrict access to and reporting from animal facilities - has been the subject of significant debate over the past decade. While several courts have struck down ag-gag laws as unconstitutional, many remain in force. This raises questions about how to assess animal welfare in facilities where legal constraints limit direct observation by outsiders, and insiders—fearing reputational harm—are reluctant to disclose instances of abuse. At the same time, in the case of slaughterhouses operating under federal regulations, Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) inspectors occupy a hybrid role that straddles the line between outsider and insider, tasked with monitoring compliance with humane handling requirements under the Health of Animals Act and the Safe Food for Canadians Act and their regulations, from animals’ arrival at the establishment until their slaughter. When inspectors identify a situation of non-compliance, they may issue a Corrective Action Request (CAR) to the license holder, which identifies the area of non-compliance and requires the implementation of corrective measures by a specific date. This paper investigates what happens behind the closed doors of slaughterhouses by analysing CARs issued by Agency inspectors in federally licensed slaughterhouses between 2017 and 2022, retrieved through an Access to Information request. It also incorporates insights from interviews with current and former CFIA employees, slaughterhouse workers, and union representatives. While the results provide some insight into which types of violations are most common, an overall lack of transparency from the CFIA makes it difficult to draw broader conclusions about the prevalence of violations or the enforceability of regulatory requirements by Agency inspectors. The paper concludes that this institutional opacity poses a greater threat to animal welfare than ag-gag laws themselves, undermining regulatory transparency and eroding public confidence in government institutions and the regulated entities they oversee. 

Bio: Sarah Berger Richardson is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law (Civil Law Section) of the University of Ottawa where she teaches food law and administrative law. She is President and co-founder of the Canadian Association for Food Law and Policy and Co-Director of the University of Ottawa’s Public Law Centre. Her research focuses on the regulation of the agri-food sector, with an emphasis on animal agriculture and transitions towards sustainable food systems. She holds a Doctor of Civil Law from McGill University and completed her Masters of Law (LL.M) at Tel Aviv University, where she was a research fellow at the Manna Center in Food Safety and Security. In 2018-2019, she was a visiting teaching fellow at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University. Previously, she served as a law clerk at the Supreme Court of Israel and the Canada Agricultural Review Tribunal. She is a member of the Law Society of Ontario.