Young boys learn basic craftmanship at a tailor shop at the IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camp at Bangassou, in the south-east of the Central African Republic, on June 11, 2018. (Photo by CHARLES BOUESSEL/AFP via Getty Images)
Parliamentarians are calling for stronger enforcement mechanisms in legislation that aims to ban the import of products made with slave labour. Sponsors of the bill say it will soon be passed into law.
Bill S-211, which seeks to enact the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act and amend the customs tariff, completed third reading in the Senate in April and the second reading in the House of Commons in June.
The bill’s co-sponsor, Liberal MP John McKay, said the legislation is close to being passed into law, and Canadian companies are preparing for its implementation.
Bill S-211 would create a “reporting obligation,” requiring importers to submit an annual report to the minister of public safety on the steps the entity had taken during its previous financial year “to prevent and reduce the risk” of forced labour or child labour in the production of goods that the entity imported into Canada.
Entities that would be subject to this reporting obligation include companies that have—in at least one of its two most recent financial years—met at least two of three following conditions: it has at least $20 million in assets, it has generated at least $40 million in revenue, or it employs an average of at least 250 employees. Penalties for non-disclosure are $250,000.
McKay told the House Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs on Sept. 26 that the bill would name and shame Canadian corporations that are complicit in importing slave-made goods.
“It should be clear that we cannot base our prosperity on forced labour and child labour,” he said. “It was immoral in the 18th century and it’s immoral in the 21st century.”
“Whether your values come from scriptures or from human rights documents, the conclusion is the same: forced labour is contrary to human dignity.”
Call for Stronger Enforcement
On Sept. 27, several parliamentarians at the House foreign affairs committee meeting called for stronger enforcement mechanisms to be included in addition to the requirement of an annual report proposed for corporations.
NDP MP Heather McPherson raised concerns about the legislation, particularly “the lack of next steps.”
“I have some deep concerns about this legislation. Part of my concern stems from the fact that [the bill] makes it look like we are checking all the boxes when this legislation is perhaps checking the first box,” she said.
McPherson said Bill S-211 does not adequately address preventing and remedying harm, nor does it require companies to change their behaviour and practice other than producing the annual report. She also noted that the penalties in this bill are only for companies that fail to disclose, rather than for companies that are actually using forced labor.
“We can pass all the laws we want and the government can publish all the regulations it wants, but if there’s no enforcement of these laws and regulations, then they are nothing more than ink on paper,” said Conservative MP Michael Chong.
“The CBSA last year blocked only one shipment … temporarily, out of the hundreds of millions, billions of dollars of product that are pouring into this country that I have no doubt are being produced using slave or forced labour,” Chong said, drawing a comparison with U.S. customs, which intercepted 1,400 shipping containers filled with slave-made goods during the same period last year.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) confirmed on Nov. 12, 2021, that it has made only one interception of goods believed to be made with slave labour since mid-2020, under a ban put in place by the trilateral USMCA trade deal signed by Canada in 2018. The shipment of clothing arrived in Quebec from China, according to CBSA.
In response to the calls for more enforcement, McKay said passing the law is just “round one” and he expects to see improvement to the bill in the future.
“You’re not going to get any disagreement from me on what the facts appear to be,” McKay said. “I would rather hope that the government is quite aggressive,” he added.
“Round two, I would expect the government to be a little bit more forceful, and to use the authorities that are given to enter onto premises, examine documents, seize computers, issue warrants.”
