The Animal Health Act, 2009, was passed today by the Ontario legislature. When proclaimed, the act will provide important tools to help support government and industry partners, including:

• enabling the use of quarantine orders, surveillance zones and animal health control area orders to help control the spread of any detected disease or hazard
  
  
• supporting a future traceability framework for the quick identification and control of disease and food safety hazards.

The passage of the bill comes after consultation with industry partners and the public on an animal health strategy for the province, which began in 2006. In the new year, the ministry plans to establish an ad hoc committee with representative industry partners, to guide development of initial regulations that will come under the bill.