An Update on Kosher Slaughter in Canada
“Is the Canadian government trying to ban shechita?”
The short answer is no. The longer answer requires more explanation.
BY RICHARD RABKIN
Kosher slaughter is enshrined under Canadian law as an acceptable method of animal slaughter and its implementation is regulated by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). In 2018 the government passed legislation called the Safe Food for Canadians Act, and in January of 2019 the CFIA published new guidelines relating to shechita. These guidelines introduced new indicators that were required at slaughterhouses to ensure that animals are unconscious prior to moving them on the production line. These new indicators can take up to a few minutes to administer and in modern slaughterhouses they slow down the production line significantly. So much so, that abattoirs which once happily accommodated kosher slaughter in Canada started closing their doors to the Jewish community because they can’t accommodate such a slow line speed and they do not want to be associated with a practice that the government views as inhumane.
We expressed our grave concerns to the CFIA, trying to negotiate with them over the course of a couple of years but unfortunately, we were not able to come to a resolution. As a result, the Kashruth Council of Canada (COR), the Jewish Community Council of Montreal (MK), Mehadrin Meats and Shefa Meats, together with significant support from CIJA, UJA Federation of Greater Toronto and Federation CJA in Montreal and some generous philanthropists, sued the government to remove these new restrictive guidelines.
We took this action because we felt that we had no choice. Because of the abattoir closures, the Canadian Jewish community had to begin importing significant amounts of meat from outside the country. This is not a viable long term solution because it can affect both supply and cost. But more importantly, we felt that these new guidelines were a direct attack on Jewish tradition. One of the hallmarks of a thriving Jewish community is a stable and secure access of domestic kosher meat. Furthermore, historically, attempts to restrict shechita have often been accompanied by dangerous antisemitism falsely associating Jews with cruelty.
Efforts to restrict shechita are so misplaced precisely because shechita is a humane method of animal slaughter. As is well known, animal welfare is an important Jewish value and causing unnecessary pain to animals is prohibited by the principal of tzar baalei chayim. That is why the knife used by shochtim has to be razor sharp without even the slightest nick, so that the cut is painless, and the animal doesn’t suffer unnecessarily, even for a split second. This is not just attested to be the weight of Jewish tradition; it was echoed by our impressive team of medical and scientific experts. This team includes a senior veterinary surgeon, neurologists, cardiologists, a neuroscientist and others. They have all produced reports indicating that the best evidence is that shechita causes unconsciousness as quickly as stunning and possibly faster, ensuring a humane slaughter of the animal obviating the need for the CFIA’s new indicators. In fact, there is no reliable scientific evidence to support the claim that absent the use of the CFIA indicators, performance of shechita would result in an inhumane treatment of animals.
What then is the CFIA’s issue? The argument is that after shechita, the animal might still be conscious and might still experience pain and as a result it should be left alone for a period of time, up to a few minutes, before moving it along the production line. But the science demonstrates that this is incorrect. Within a few seconds after shechita the animal rapidly proceeds to unconsciousness, similar to how a person might faint. When someone requires surgery for example, he is unconscious and thus does not feel the surgeon’s knife. This is similar to what the animal goes through after shechita. This evidence was introduced by our lawyers in court.
In April of 2024 we brought a motion for an interlocutory injunction to ask the courts to direct the CFIA to cease using their new indicators of unconsciousness. We introduced the scientific evidence supplied by our experts but also relied on religious freedom rights afforded under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the “Charter”).
In July of 2024 Mr. Justice Regimbauld handed down his decision in our favour. In his reasons, he wrote:
The Guidelines are also discriminatory as they unfairly associate a religious practice of shechita to animal pain, and impose a challenge that does not apply to non-kosher meat production. The Guidelines therefore impose on Jews a burden and deny them benefits in a manner that has the effect of reinforcing, perpetuating, or exacerbating a disadvantage. Their Charter rights to freedom of religion and the right to equality enshrined in the Charter are therefore unjustifiably restricted.
Since Justice Regimbauld’s decision, some of the abattoirs that previously closed to kosher slaughter have expressed interest in resuming production while others new to kosher are exploring the idea altogether. These are certainly positive developments. But abattoirs need predictability and that will only come when we have a final pronouncement from the courts or the CFIA.
It is important to note that since the court’s decision, CFIA officials in Ottawa have engaged with us in a spirit of cooperation and have expressed their interest in working with the Jewish community within the framework of their mandate. We are hopeful that this will continue.
Like many communities worldwide, the Canadian Jewish community feels less secure now than in recent memory. Understandably, threats to kosher slaughter only heighten this sense of unease. We remain hopeful that a long-term solution can be reached—one that acknowledges shechita as a humane method of animal slaughter and reaffirms the place of Canadian Jewry within the broader fabric of Canadian society.
RICHARD RABKIN
Managing Director
Kashruth Council of Canada | www.cor.ca — 2024-5784 Halachic Corner, pp. 4–5
COR, the Kashruth Council of Canada, is one of the world’s largest kosher certification agencies, certifying thousands of products, restaurants, and facilities. Learn more at cor.ca, or read about our certification services at corkosher.com.