There are concerns that 11th hour amendments to a bill that would ban whale and dolphin captivity in Canada could lead to its demise.

Bill S-203 is set to undergo clause-by-clause consideration at the House fisheries committee on Tuesday. Ahead of that meeting, there is word several technical amendments will be put forward by Liberal MP Pat Finnigan of New Brunswick.

If committee members vote in favour of even one amendment, the bill must be sent back to the Senate, where it languished for years as a result of stall tactics by pro-captivity Conservative senators. Given that this parliamentary session is quickly winding down ahead of the October federal election, proponents of the bill say sending it back to the Senate would be a death sentence.

“If any of those amendments are passed it will force the bill back to the Senate and it will die there,” said Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, sponsor of the bill.

“It’s terribly important we communicate that to Liberal members of the committee, who have the majority. It will kill the bill. They do know that.”

She said committee chair and Liberal MP Ken McDonald understands that it’s “very worrying” that amendments were put forward by a member of his party at this stage.

“I don’t understand where this is coming forward from,” May said. “They’re not based on evidence that was heard at committee. They’re technical and completely unnecessary. They’re addressing a non-problem.”

It appears the amendments originated from with the bureaucracy at Environment Canada, as one deals with the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act, which is the responsibility of the department, and would be amended if the bill is passed.

May said that’s puzzling as well.

“(Environment Minister) Catherine McKenna has told me several times directly she supports the bill and that she wants to get it passed.”

In November, Sean Casey, parliamentary secretary to the minister of Fisheries and Oceans, told the House of Commons his party recognizes the proposed legislation responds to growing concerns about cetaceans’ well-being.

“There is much more awareness today, and also a better understanding, of the nature of these animals and the conditions they need to remain happy and in good health,” he said, adding “there is no doubt that this government, and Canadians from coast to coast to coast, support the ban on the captivity of cetaceans for the sole purpose of display.”

[READ MORE: ‘Free Willy’ bill lands Liberal support in the House]

In February, parliamentary secretary Peter Schiefke echoed that sentiment, and said, like many Canadians who have heeded the science around captivity, he also strongly supports the bill. He said the government has taken notice of this and the growing movement against captivity of whales around the world. As part of the government’s overhaul of the Fisheries Act, there are provisions that would allow the minister to put regulations in place to ban the import and export of cetaceans. But he said they must do more.

“That is why we need to make it clear through legislation that indeed whales do not belong in captivity.”

Schiefke said Bill S-203 “will make sure whales stay where they belong — in the wild.”

The Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act was first introduced by former senator Wilfred Moore in December 2015. In addition to banning captivity, it includes a grandfather clause for those animals already in facilities in Canada, and permits legitimate research, as well as the rescue of animals in distress. It would also ban breeding and the trade of reproductive materials, though nothing in the bill criminalizes the conduct of researchers. At committee in the Senate, the bill was amended to affirm the rights of Indigenous peoples.

Sen. Murray Sinclair took on sponsorship of the bill when Moore retired in January 2017.

The entire time the bill was in the Senate, it was up against a tide of Tory opposition led by Sen. Don Plett, the Conservative whip and caucus critic of the bill, who repeatedly used procedural obstruction to keep it from moving to a vote. It was a tactic that appeared to have the support of the Conservative caucus.

In late October 2018, the bill went to a vote in the Senate and was passed.

[READ MORE: Sen. Sinclair makes powerful plea for support of ‘Free Willy’ bill]

Between February and October of 2017, the Senate Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans held more than 17 hearings and heard from more than 40 witnesses on the proposed legislation. At this point, May said so much work has been put into it by so many people, including scientists, Moore and Sinclair, in addition to the strong public support, that it would be wrong for it to meet its end this way.

A petition supporting Bill S-203 has garnered more than 100,000 signatures.

Despite that, Stephen Kelly, chief of staff to Conservative leader in the Senate Larry Smith, suggested on Twitter last week that more of the same is what lies ahead if the bill returns.

Speaking stomping one’s feet and demanding things, how’s S203? Can’t wait for it to come back. — Stephen Kelly (@sjkelly1) March 27, 2019

“They will go to any length to continue with keeping cetaceans in captivity,” May said of some Conservative senators.

To avoid further delay or the total demise of the bill, the technical amendments that may be proposed for S-203 could instead be rolled into Bill C-68, the government’s Fisheries Act update, which is now before the Senate. The bill already includes provisions that would ban the capture of cetaceans to keep in captivity, but it doesn’t go as far as S-203. May said she would only want to see that if the government side already has plans to amend its bill.

“I’d rather that we acknowledge the work that’s gone into (the bills) and pass them as is. They’re both good bills.”

She said she’s keeping an open mind heading into Tuesday and counting on good faith efforts from committee members to pull the amendments.

“I’m desperately worried that we could see the end of a bill that would ensure cetaceans are not kept in captivity. That is an outcome that goes against the commitment of the minister of the environment and the government, which claims to care about cetaceans in captivity,” May said.

“The government must act to make sure this doesn’t happen.”

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