More than six months after a Senate committee voted in support of a bill that would ban whale and dolphin captivity in Canada, the report has finally been adopted in the Red Chamber.

The Senate’s Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans voted in favour of Bill S-203 on Oct. 26 by a vote of 9-5. It was finally moved by committee chair Sen. Fabian Manning in the Senate in late November, only for Sen. Don Plett to immediately move to adjourn debate. Yesterday, after repeated stalling tactics by Conservative senators, the bill was unbeached by a vote and will now move on to third reading, which could come as early as next week.

“I’m glad that a vote finally happened. My colleagues persevered and the report was adopted,” said now retired Sen. Wilfred Moore, who first tabled the bill in June of 2015, arguing that the keeping of whales in captivity is unjustifiably cruel.

“It took a long time. This bill was probably in committee longer than any bill in the last 20, 25 years.”

The committee held 17 hearings and heard from more than 40 witnesses. By comparison, Bill C-14 — the legislation on medical assistance in dying — received five pre-study hearings and just two committee hearings when it landed in the Senate. The Harper government’s controversial terrorism bill (C-51) also received five pre-study hearings and two committee hearings.

The bill aims to criminalize the captivity of whales and dolphins in Canada. It has a grandfather clause for those animals already in captivity and permits legitimate research, as well as the rescue of animals in distress. It would ban the trading of reproductive materials, but there is nothing in the bill to criminalize the conduct of researchers. Before the bill was adopted by committee, Sen. Murray Sinclair introduced a clause to recognize Indigenous treaty rights and s.35 of the Constitution.

“This is to ensure that Indigenous people in Canada know this is not intended to derogate rights that are protected under s.35,” he said at the time.

Sinclair took over sponsorship of the bill when Moore reached mandatory retirement age in January 2016.

That clause addressed an issue raised at committee last spring: the need for consultations with the Inuit. One section of the bill would amend the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act to prohibit imports and exports of cetaceans to and from Canada. Andrew Burns, a lawyer for Marineland in Ontario, appeared before the committee in mid-May and argued the bill intrudes into issues of constitutionally protected Inuit rights, specifically around the sale of narwhal tusks and harvesting wildlife.

He said the park’s position is that the legal ‘duty to consult’ with the Inuit had not been fulfilled.

Indigenous senators didn’t agree, as five of them voted in favour of all amendments to the bill last October before moving it along.

Despite that, the argument was raised once again by Conservative Sen. Dennis Patterson yesterday.

“(If we) introduce a Canadian law that would criminalize the export from Canada of a cetacean, including a whale, dolphin or porpoise, whether living or dead — and I emphasize the word ‘dead’ — we would, in essence, be limiting the ability of Inuit whalers to share their bounty and earn a return for their efforts.”

“While I do recognize that a standard non-derogation clause was introduced as an amendment, I do not believe that this measure is strong enough to prevent potential court challenges in the future, and I firmly believe that if there is even the slightest possibility of this bill infringing on the rights of Inuit, we must fulfill our duty as per s.35 of the Constitution to adequately consult.

“We cannot require Inuit to have to go to the expense and trouble of going to court to again define and confirm Indigenous rights. How unfortunate that consultation with Inuit has never taken place during the study of this bill.”

Moore said he’s been clear from the start that’s not the intent of the bill.

“This is just another stall tactic and ploy,” he said. “What about the First Nations and Inuit at committee? They don’t count?”

In March, Elizabeth May grew tired of the tactics Tory members had been using against the bill and called on Tory Leader Andrew Scheer to wade in and stand up to his own senators. In an open letter sent to Scheer, the Green Party leader said the senators have tried to delay and obstruct Bill S-203 at every stage of the legislative process, something that “disappoints the tens of thousands of Canadians who wish to see a vote on this bill, and reflects poorly on the National Conservative Caucus.”

Moore said at this point, there’s no reason things couldn’t be wrapped up in the Senate by the end of May and moved on to the House.

“The whole delay thing has not helped the image of the Senate. We’re supposed to be a chamber of debate, not delay. So many times Conservative senators promised me they’d speak to the bill, but they broke their word and delayed, delayed, delayed. I think they’ve pretty much worn it out,” he said.

“But there’s a lot of very solid public and Parliamentary support for this bill, on both sides of the aisle. We have the best marine scientists from across the globe supporting the bill either in person, written brief, or by videoconference. Clearly the Canadian public is with us. There’s no doubt about that, so we’re not going anywhere. We’re in this. We believe in what we’re doing.”