Parliament is back in session next week, but the MP for Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa is already preparing for a busy session. Robert Sopuck anticipates no shortage of discussions surrounding Nuclear Weapons testing in North Korea, as well as the federal government's review to be hot topics. However, he says one bill in particular has him especially concerned. The debate will commence on a private member's bill from a southern Ontario MP, focusing on animal cruelty. While the current laws surrounding the issue haven't been updated in years, Sopuck says this bill leaves far too much open to interpretation.

"It has the potential to give animals rights because the language of the bill is so vaguely worded that a judge could rule that a traditionally accepted animal use all of a sudden became cruel. I'm paraphrasing here, but the inconsistency of the language is its main flaw."

While Sopuck's the Opposition Critic for Wildlife Conservation and an avid hunter and fishermen, he says this bill could have negative impacts far beyond those areas. He notes livestock producers could see major changes to the way they handle their livestock. He also notes the vague wording of the bill could also go much further, leading to a significant stall in medical research.

"Medical research is something that impacts everyone in Canada. I'm alive, or we all know somebody who's alive because of animal-based medical research. For example, 60 per cent of all heart and stroke research in Canada is done on animals. Some people think this is just a hunting and fishing issue, but it's clearly not."

He anticipates the bill should be defeated, given a large number of groups opposing the changes.

Another major issue to be discussed will be the government's approach to changing the electoral process. While the Liberal government has created a committee to discuss electoral reform, the Opposition Conservatives have been calling for a referendum on the issues. While the process of reviewing electoral reform is already underway, Sopuck feels it's not too late to for the government to move forward with a referendum.

"We're pushing very hard to get a referendum on electoral reform. We don't think there will be legislation this fall, and polls are consistently showing that the public wants a referendum on electoral reform. This is an issue we're going to be working on very, very hard."

MPs return to the House of Commons on Monday.