As a rule, the regulation of animal testing falls to the provinces. The federal government, however, is not without influence in the matter. 

The federal Food and Drugs Act governs how food, drugs, devices, and cosmetics are regulated. For example, the Cosmetic Regulations under the act require the disclosure of all ingredients on the label of a cosmetic.

This past spring, Parliament amended the Food and Drugs Act to ban the testing of cosmetic products on animals, thus implementing an important Liberal election commitment. The ban will come into force on December 22, 2023.

More specifically, companies will no longer be allowed to test cosmetics on animals or sell cosmetics that have been tested on animals. There will also be a prohibition on false or misleading labelling of cosmetics on the subject of animal testing. This means that, after the ban comes into effect, no label can create the impression that a cosmetic was not tested on an animal unless there is solid evidence to this effect.

These changes align with ethical testing standards in place around the world, including the European Union, Australia, the United Kingdom, and South Korea.

The federal government can also play a role in discouraging animal testing in cases where scientific research is being conducted with the help of federal funding. Recent amendments to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) address the matter of toxicological testing using vertebrate animals where federal funding is involved.

When legislation (Bill S-5) updating CEPA was studied by the House of Commons environment committee last spring, Liberal M.P.s Leah Taylor Roy and Patrick Weiler were successful in inserting legal language in the bill to clearly stipulate that the government’s aim is to encourage the use of scientifically-justified alternative methods to “replace, reduce or refine the use of vertebrate animals” with the goal of “minimizing pain and distress caused to vertebrate animals.”

Lastly, Health Canada is collaborating with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Cooperation on Alternative Test Methods to develop alternatives to animal testing. Dr. Charu Chandrasekera, the executive director of the Canadian Centre for Alternatives to Animal Methods, appeared before the House of Commons environment committee during its study of Bill S-5 and explained how animal-testing methods are in fact unreliable and uneconomical in addition to being ethically questionable. Dr. Chandrasekera stated that currently-available and soon-to-be available non-animal-testing alternatives are in fact more effective.