Project Summary
Animal Justice is a not-for-profit dedicated to advocating for animal protection. Animal Justice is Canada’s only national animal law advocacy organization. Various jurisdictions across Canada have introduced or passed laws designed to stop employee whistleblowers and investigative journalists from publicly exposing animal abuse on farms and/or to restrict protests by animal advocates on public property near transport trucks. These types of laws are often referred to as “agricultural gag” or “ag-gag” laws. Animal Justice is in the midst of challenging the constitutionality of Ontario’s ag-gag law and is broadly working to stop the spread of ag-gag laws provincially and federally.
Students on this project will conduct legal research on Alberta’s agricultural gag laws and create a memorandum for Animal Justice’s internal use. As well as researching Alberta’s ag-gag legislation and case law, students will explore ag-gag laws in other jurisdictions across Canada and in the United States.
Time Commitment
Law student volunteers on this project are expected to volunteer from October 2023 – March 2024 (excluding December). The time requirement is roughly 3-5 hours per week. Additional hours are at the students’ discretion. Overall, all PBSC projects are easily manageable alongside academic demands.
Required Training
Law student volunteers must attend scheduled work-review times with Animal Justice and the Lawyer Supervisor, and to make themselves available for all organization and PBSC- specific training, meetings, presentations, and Lawyer Supervisor/Project Lead/organization check-ins.
Animal Justice will provide an introductory meeting on how the project will function in October 2023. Students must also participate in all mandatory PBSC General Training Sessions in September and October 2023, which includes a mandatory Anti-Oppression Training Session in September 2023, as well as the WestLaw Research Training that will take place in October 2023.
Area of Law
– Agricultural Law
– Environmental Law
Number of Students and Prerequisites
– 1 to 2 student volunteers
– No course prerequisites but civil procedure, administrative law, constitutional law, and/or animal law courses considered an asset
– An interest in animal rights and/or the promotion of animal welfare is preferred
– All years are encouraged to apply
Project Type
Legal Research & Writing
How to Apply?
Applications for the 2023/2024 are currently open! Please fill out the Google Form linked below.