It’s been a hard–sometimes disheartening–slog for Canadian animal activists, but they are about to have a very, very good spring.

And so are the animals the activists have long sought to protect and nurture.

Two historic bills are about to pass in Canada’s Parliament.

One bans the importation of shark fins into this country; the other bans keeping whales and dolphins in captivity.

It was the shark fin ban that came across the wires overnight.

Canada banned finning in territorial waters in 1994 but never banned their import.

It is currently the third largest importer of shark fins outside Asia, trailing only China and Hong Kong.

Last year, Canada imported over 148,000 kilograms of shark fins, worth an estimated $3.2 million.

In 2018 world-wide, 73 million sharks were slaughtered.

The global population of sharks is now depleted by 90 per cent.

But a hard-earned victory for those who love animals appears to be at hand.

The politics have been rough-and-tumble and activists had more than their share of disappointments, but Camille Labchuk, executive director of Animal Justice, is smiling a lot these days.

I spoke with her by phone Wednesday at her office in Ottawa.