Bill S-214 has passed the Senate!
But what the heck does that mean?
And what is it?
And why should I care?
Bill S-214 is now halfway to becoming law in Canada, having been passed by the Senate and now moving onto the House of Commons. For those of you not familiar with how the Canadian government works, the Senate is appointed by the Prime Minister’s recommendation and the House of Commons is elected by the voters.
What is Bill S-214?
As quoted from the openparliament website, Bill S-214 seeks to ” prohibit cosmetic animal testing and the sale of cosmetics developed or manufactured using cosmetic animal testing. It also provides that no evidence derived from animal testing may be used to establish the safety of a cosmetic. This enactment amends the Food and Drugs Act to prohibit cosmetic animal testing and the sale of cosmetics developed or manufactured using cosmetic animal testing. It also provides that no evidence derived from animal testing may be used to establish the safety of a cosmetic. “
In short, it bans the testing of animals in the making of cosmetics in Canada, and gives the government the power to classify certain products such as sunscreen as a cosmetic for the purposes of the bill.
Does it mean that no cosmetics that are tested on animals will be sold in Canada?
The short answer is that we don’t know, but we could logically assume no.
The bill specifically pertains to Canada and Canadian companies.
There will be a “phasing in period” to allow Canadian companies to make the necessary changes to their policies, but of course there are some pretty major non-Canadian companies that sell their products in Canada that are not manufactured in Canada.
Why did this bill not pass before?
It has been considered that testing on animals is the only way to make sure products are safe for humans.
But that idea is old fashioned and inaccurate, and in our opinion, just plain wrong. We say it’s way passed time to make all beauty cruelty free!
We are 100% cruelty free here at Amethyst Crystal Organic Beauty. Makeup products, hair products and lash products.
Written by Tara