On August 9, 2014, Quebec’s agriculture minister, Pierre Paradis, announced that the province was working on enacting new legislation that would change the status of animals from “personal property” to living, “sentient” beings, as has already been done in several European countries.

If the legislation is enacted, pain and suffering will finally be taken into consideration when sentencing animal abusers, and Quebec – a province presently ranked amongst the lowest for animal welfare – would become the first Canadian province to redefine the legal status of animals.

Reference:
Quebec to amend Civil Code to better protect animals from abuse. CBC news.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-to-amend-civil-code-to-better-protect-animals-from-abuse-1.2732056