In October, 2013, a German shepherd dog named Quanto was stabbed to death in Edmonton as he and his handler, a constable with Edmonton Police Services, tried to apprehend a man who had fled in a car with stolen plates.
Later that month, the Government made a commitment in the Speech from the Throne to introduce a law to honour Quanto and to recognize risks taken by police officers and their service animals daily.
The Justice for Animals in Service Act (Quanto's Law) was introduced in Parliament as Bill C 35 on May 12, 2014. After being passed by both Houses of Parliament, it received Royal Assent and came into force on June 23, 2015.
In addition to recognizing the risks taken by police officers and their service animals, this legislation extends specific protection to animals trained to help persons with disabilities (for example, guide dogs that assist persons with visual impairments), as well as military animals that aid members of the Canadian Armed Forces in carrying out their duties.
Dogs are the animals most often trained and used to assist law enforcement officers and persons with disabilities. However, other kinds of animals can also be trained and used as law enforcement animals or service animals to assist people with disabilities. For example, several police forces use horses. These are all protected under Quanto's Law.
Canine units support frontline officers and investigative units in several ways, including tracking suspects who have fled on foot, apprehending criminals, and searching for missing persons, evidence or dangerous materials such as explosives.
Within the federal government, law enforcement animals are primarily used by the RCMP, Canada Border Services Agency and Correctional Services Canada.
- The RCMP currently has 168 police service dogs allocated across Canada: 145 are general duty profile dogs and 21 are detection profile dogs. They are used to help find lost persons, track criminals, and search for items such as narcotics, explosives and crime scene evidence. Police Dog Service teams are situated in strategic locations across Canada to provide services to communities. In addition to the RCMP, provincial and municipal police services across Canada have integrated police service dogs into their everyday service delivery in our communities.
- Canada Border Services Agency generally has about 50 dog-and-handler teams that help to detect contraband drugs and firearms, undeclared currency, and food, plant and animal products.
- Correctional Services Canada uses dogs to help stop the flow of illicit drugs and contraband into federal correctional institutions. They currently have 99 dog-and-handler teams across Canada.
Quanto's Law created a new offence in section 445.1 of the Criminal Code, specifically prohibiting the killing or wounding of animals that have been trained and are being used to help law enforcement officers, persons with disabilities or the Canadian Armed Forces.
It is a "hybrid" offence because it provides the options of prosecuting the offence by indictment, or by summary conviction.
The maximum sentence upon indictment is five years in prison. Where a law enforcement animal is wilfully killed and the offence is prosecuted by indictment, there is a mandatory minimum penalty of six months in prison. The mandatory sentence would not apply if it can be shown, for example, that the killing of the animal was accidental rather than intentional.
If a law enforcement officer is assaulted or a law enforcement animal is injured or killed while on duty, the sentence for that offence would be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed on the offender arising out of the same event.
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July 2015
Department of Justice Canada