Sophie Gaillard joined the Montreal SPCA in 2013, after having graduated from McGill University’s Faculty of Law and articling at the Crown prosecutors’ office in Montreal. In her role as Director of Animal Advocacy, she oversees the Montreal SPCA’s efforts to strengthen animal protection legislation and public policy at the municipal, provincial and federal levels. She is namely one of the instigators of the Animals are not Things manifesto which led to the adoption of a new provision in the Civil Code of Quebec recognizing animals as sentient beings.