Archived in January 2013 Schedule 3: Ethical Review of Research Involving Animals

This information has been archived. Visit the  Agreement on the Administration of Agency Grants and Awards by Research Institutions page for current information.

1. Policy and Legislation

The Agencies require that all the research they fund that involves the use of animals be approved, in accordance with animal care standards, by the Researcher’s Institution and by the Institution where the research will be conducted before the work begins. The Institutions must have procedures in place to monitor ongoing work and to ensure conformity with federal and provincial guidelines, regulations and laws covering the use of animals in research, teaching and testing.

The  Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) is the national organization responsible for setting and maintaining standards for the care and use of animals used in research, teaching and testing throughout Canada. The Agencies actively support the CCAC's goals of ensuring that animals used in science are treated in an ethical manner and cared for properly, as well as its policy of encouraging the refinement, reduction and replacement of animal use in research. The Agencies encourage investigators to become involved in the work of their Institutional Animal Care Committee (IACC), as defined by the CCAC, and encourage Institutions to recognize this work as a valuable service to the research community.

2. Responsibilities

2.1 Responsibilities of the Institution

The Institution agrees to:

1. participate in the CCAC's Program, which includes regular assessments, and hold a valid Certificate of GAP – Good Animal Practice confirming that it is in compliance with the CCAC's guidelines and policies;
2. provide its IACC members with the training opportunities and financial and administrative independence that will enable them to fulfill their duties, which include the monitoring of ongoing research;
3. release research funds to researchers only after an IACC has approved the research. This review can be a formal review of the detailed protocol, or it can be a two-stage process if the activities involving animals will only take place in a future fiscal year and the methodology still needs to be determined. In the latter case, funds may be released, on a pro-rated basis, following the "in principle" approval of the research protocol for activities up to the start of the work involving animals. In any case, the research must maintain IACC approval for the duration of the project;
4. inform the Agency if IACC approval for a project is not obtained within six months of the award date and explain the reason for the delay, in which case the Agency will consider that this condition has not been fulfilled and may reallocate the funds;
5. suspend funding for a research project already under way that is found to:
   1. contravene the guidelines or policies of the CCAC, or
   2. infringe any relevant provincial laws, or
   3. fail to meet any conditions of approval previously imposed by the IACC.
6. rescind the suspension once the contravention is rectified to the satisfaction of the IACC. The Agency must be informed of any suspension lasting longer than three months.

2.2 Responsibilities of Agencies

The Agencies have a responsibility to:

1. ensure that their funds are used only to support research involving animals that complies with CCAC guidelines and policies, and applicable laws and regulations, as interpreted by an IACC;
2. transmit to the Institution any ethical concerns raised during the course of the Agency's peer review process and make the release of funds conditional on a satisfactory response to these concerns; and
3. transmit to the CCAC, for follow up, allegations of non-compliance with CCAC guidelines and policies.

3. Resolution of Issues of Non-Compliance

Where, after an assessment visit, the CCAC finds the Institution to be in non-compliance, and the Institution does not, within a reasonable time, complete the actions required to bring it into compliance, the CCAC will inform the Agency. The Agency will then follow the procedure described in Schedule 8 at entry level 3. Suspension of funding of research involving animals will last until the CCAC reports that the Institution has initiated the actions required to bring it into compliance, at which time the Agency will recommence funding.

4. Transfer of Funds

When a Primary Institution transfers grant or award funds to a Secondary Institution for the purpose of research involving animals, Schedule 9 applies.