Ontario ag-gag law enacted
Law & Regulation
In Effect
June 18, 2020
Summary
On 18 June 2020, the Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act, 2020 (formerly Bill 156) received Royal Assent from the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, making it the second Canadian provincial ag-gag law following Alberta’s Bill 27 (November 2019). Key sections including s.6(1) — which creates an offence for stopping, obstructing, hindering, or otherwise interfering with a motor vehicle transporting farm animals — were proclaimed into force on 2 September 2020. Set-fine schedules for offences under the Act were issued by the Ontario Court of Justice effective 5 December 2020. The Act establishes specific offences related to trespassing on “animal protection zones” — defined to include farms, barns, pastures, and other prescribed agricultural premises where farm animals are kept — and provides that consent to enter such premises is void if obtained under duress or false pretences. Maximum fines for trespass-related offences are set at up to CAD 15,000 for a first offence and CAD 25,000 for subsequent offences. The Act also narrows civil liability for owners and occupiers of farm properties when persons are injured while trespassing. Government and sector documentation describes the Act as applying to “livestock farms and livestock transport.” Animal Justice, Animal Alliance of Canada, and Last Chance for Animals characterised the Act as an “ag-gag” law and opposed it in committee submissions. A constitutional challenge filed by Animal Justice and co-applicants in March 2022 resulted in the Ontario Superior Court striking down specified provisions on 2 April 2024; those provisions were reinstated by the Ontario Court of Appeal on 2 June 2026 in a ruling that found the legislation does not violate Charter rights. The constitutional challenge is documented in a separate Development record.
Background Context
Before the Act, trespass on farms and interference with animal transport vehicles were governed by the Trespass to Property Act and general criminal law provisions. The Ontario government cited biosecurity risks, on-farm trespass incidents, and interactions with vehicles transporting animals as justifications for sector-specific legislation. Prior to and during the bill’s passage, advocacy organisations conducted on-farm investigations and organised demonstrations at slaughterhouses and on roadways where transport trucks carrying animals stopped — so-called “vigils.” Animal Justice submitted written and oral evidence to the Standing Committee on General Government opposing the bill. Alberta’s Trespass Statutes (Protecting Law-Abiding Property Owners) Amendment Act, 2019 (Bill 27) had enacted Canada’s first ag-gag provisions in November 2019. Animal Justice subsequently documented that ag-gag laws were passed in Manitoba and Prince Edward Island in addition to Alberta and Ontario, forming a broader provincial legislative trend. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) sponsored and promoted the Act.
System Impact
Direction
Neutral / Administrative
Type
Alters Legal Basis
Significance
Moderate
Royal Assent was granted on 18 June 2020. Key provisions including the offence for interfering with animal transport vehicles (s.6(1)) were proclaimed into force on 2 September 2020; set-fine schedules were issued by the Ontario Court of Justice effective 5 December 2020, completing the operational framework. Ontario Pork, Ontario Sheep Farmers, and other commodity groups issued guidance to members and publicly supported the Act. Law enforcement agencies including the Ontario Provincial Police and municipal police services began using the Act to respond to trespass incidents and interactions with animal transport trucks. A constitutional challenge was filed by Animal Justice, journalist Jessica Scott-Reid, and advocate Louise Jorgensen in March 2022. After a hearing concluding on 1 November 2023, the Ontario Superior Court struck down provisions governing misrepresentation-based access and restrictions on animal interaction in transport on 2 April 2024, with the invalidation made operative on 2 May 2024. The Ontario government appealed, and on 2 June 2026 the Ontario Court of Appeal unanimously reinstated the full Act, finding that the legislation does not violate Charter rights. The constitutional litigation sequence is documented in a separate Development record (Canada 2024 – Ontario ag-gag provisions struck down by Superior Court).
Anticipated Effects
If implemented as written and fully in force, the provisions related to trespass on animal protection zones and interference with animal transport would be expected to reduce opportunities for unauthorised entry onto farms and processing facilities and for physical interaction with animals in transit.
If the increased fines, restitution powers, and civil liability protections are applied consistently, the legal risk profile for individuals entering farms without consent or approaching transport vehicles would increase, and the financial deterrence against organised investigative activities would be strengthened.
Whether the Act has produced any measurable change in the frequency of undercover investigations, farm trespass incidents, or documented welfare exposures in Ontario is not established in available sources.
Significance Rationale
Assigned Neutral / Administrative (impact direction) because the Act modifies legal access conditions for agricultural facilities and animal transport vehicles in Ontario without directly mandating changes in animal production volumes, facility numbers, or exploitation scale. Government and industry sources describe the Act’s primary functions as setting offences, fines, and liability rules for entry and interference, adjusting the legal conditions for oversight rather than the scale of the production system.
Assigned Alters Legal Basis (impact type) because the primary mechanism is the statutory creation of new offences (including offences for false-pretence entry and interference with animal transport vehicles), revision of consent rules for agricultural premises, increased maximum fines, and narrowed civil liability for property owners — all of which change the legal basis for what is permissible in relation to agricultural facility access and animal transport.
Assigned Moderate significance because the Act applies sector-wide across Ontario’s livestock farms and animal transport operations — a broad scope within one province — modifying the legal conditions for investigative access and transport-related protest. The law does not itself alter production capacity, licensing, or trade conditions, and no documented large-scale change in animal numbers or facility operations is attributed to it in sources consulted.
Impact direction is Neutral / Administrative; the trajectory sentence is not applicable.
Key Actors
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario enacted the Act; OMAFRA sponsored and promoted it. Sections were proclaimed into force by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. The Ontario Court of Justice issued set-fine schedules. Ontario Provincial Police and municipal police services enforce the Act. Ontario Pork, Ontario Sheep Farmers, and other commodity groups supported the Act and issued guidance. Animal Justice, Animal Alliance of Canada, and Last Chance for Animals opposed the Act and characterised it as an ag-gag law. Animal Justice led the constitutional challenge.
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