Canada lags behind in the fight against modern slavery

On April 28, 2022, the Canadian Senate adopted Bill S-211 to fight forced labor and child labor in supply chains. It was introduced in the House of Commons on November 30, 2022, and then referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development. We can assume that it will be resubmitted to the House during 2023 for adoption with entry into force on January 1, 2024.

However, if the law is passed, it will be ineffective in combating forced labor as well as child labor in the supply chains of Canadian companies and their suppliers.

Abuses of fundamental human rights as recognized by the International Labor Organization and the United Nations are on the rise in most countries and are referred as modern slavery.

Modern slavery encompasses sexual exploitation, forced labor, child slavery, forced criminality, domestic servitude, forced marriage, organ harvesting and human trafficking. It can affect men, women, and children of all ages.

In 2016, the International Labor Organization estimated that there were nearly 25 million people affected by modern slavery and more than 27 million in 2021. The recent pandemic would have worsened the situation and undoubtedly more than 30 million people are now affected.

This phenomenon is more prevalent in the Asia-Pacific region, but it is found in all regions of the world.

World Vision Canada estimates that over $40 billion in forced labor goods were imported into Canada in 2020.

For this law, the Canadian government was largely inspired by what England did in 2016 with its Modern Slavery Act, which is itself inspired by what California ratified in 2010 (California Transparency in Supply Chains Act).

Laws passed in California and England have proven ineffective in combating modern slavery. They are too soft and do not address the real problem.

These various laws require large corporations to produce an annual report made public on the measures they are taking to prevent modern slavery in their supply chains.

But which organizations can verify that these reports are accurate, and that progress is being made. This requires considerable resources.

These legislative provisions only benefit to large consulting firms that help corporations meet their legal obligations.

We need to reverse the approach. Assume that there is modern slavery in supplies from outside Canada and require Canadian companies to demonstrate beyond any doubt that this is not the case.

Companies must be penalized severely if they do not prevent modern slavery cases through due diligence statements covering all the tiers in their supply chains.

This approach has recently been used by various legislations and is the new trend to build responsible and sustainable supply chains*. It transfers the responsibility of proof to companies.

To establish their credentials, companies must increase their visibility in their supply chains and know who their suppliers are and what their performance and impacts are. They must work with them to identify, assess, and resolve issues.

Bills better adapted to the current supply chains issues and challenges were recently discussed in the House of Commons (C-262 and C-263). Hopefully they will be well received by our parliamentarians and senators to put Canada in a more proactive position.

* The Uyghur Forced Labor Act adopted by the USA in 2021

The EU No-Deforestation Regulation adopted in 2022

The Anti-waste Law for a Circular Economy adopted by France in 2023

The Supply Chain Due Diligence Act adopted by Germany in 2023