At U of T in 1988, he recalls, the form consisted of one page, and the compliance qualification was good for three years. This is an excellent example of CCAC establishing a national standard, yet permitting diversity in meeting the standard at the institutional level. The same principle applies to training people who work with animals. CCAC is now drafting guidelines that would make training an integral part of the council s program, while recognizing that many institutions already go to great lengths to ensure that their staff become knowledgeable and skilled in the handling of animals. We want something that they can add to their particular approach.
Some provinces have their own regulations governing animal research.
Ontario has the strongest powers granted to government officials through its Animals for Research Act. That act, in force since the 1970s, licenses facilities that use animals and makes them subject to surprise inspections that could result in the removal of the licence. Were that to happen at U of T, Dr. Harapa points out, all animal-based research would stop immediately, even if only one laboratory were in violation of the regulations. It s not only an embarrassment, but for the opponents of animal research, it would be a windfall. In contrast, he says, Britain s equivalent legislation mandates only the suspension of activities in an individual lab, rather than shutting down the entire institution.