Dear friends, I'm sorry to report to you that yesterday in the House of Commons Bill C-246 was defeated by a vote of 198 against to 84 in favour. Here is a link to information about how individual MPs voted: https://goo.gl/aXFu71 Below is also a link to an article in which the Justice Minister is quoted as saying the following, a commitment for which we fully plan to hold her to account: “I appreciate the premise of 246 and have talked with the member that brought it forward and talked with our caucus,” she says. “We all agree animal cruelty is a significant social issue that needs to be addressed. In terms of looking at the animal cruelty provisions in the Code, that’s what I’ve always committed to do and we’re going to follow up on that.” That will include consultations with the rural community and with all Canadians who have an interest on both sides of the issue. “I have to commend the member and the discussion his private member's bill brought to this House,” Wilson-Raybould says. “It’s certainly not the end of the conversation by any stretch of the imagination.” I sincerely appreciate everyone who took the time to sign and share this petition, talk to your friends and colleagues about Bill C-246, and support us through this attempt to get legislation improved for animals. I'm not sure what our next move will be but we will continue to pressure lawmakers to ensure that animals have the type of protection that is relevant to 2016, not 1892. We sincerely hope you will join us on this continued journey. We will thus keep the petition open so we can update you on our next action. Thank you again for your commitment to Bill C-246 and better protection for Canada's animals! LINK TO ARTICLE: https://ipolitics.ca/2016/10/06/animal-cruelty-bill-defeated/