Definitions
Forced labour means labour or service provided or offered to be provided by a person under circumstances that
- could reasonably be expected to cause the person to believe their safety or the safety of a person known to them would be threatened if they failed to provide or offer to provide the labour or service; or
- constitute forced or compulsory labour as defined in article 2 of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, adopted in Geneva on June 28, 1930.
Child labour means labour or services provided or offered to be provided by persons under the age of 18 years and that
- are provided or offered to be provided in Canada under circumstances that are contrary to the laws applicable in Canada;
- are provided or offered to be provided under circumstances that are mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous to them;
- interfere with their schooling by depriving them of the opportunity to attend school, obliging them to leave school prematurely or requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work; or
- constitute the worst forms of child labour as defined in article 3 of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999, adopted at Geneva on June 17, 1999.
Entity means a corporation or a trust, partnership or other unincorporated organisation that
- is listed on a stock exchange in Canada;
- has a place of business in Canaxda, does business in Canada or has assets in Canada and that, based on its consolidated financial statements, meets at least two of the following conditions for at least one of its two most recent financial years
- it has at least $20 million in assets,
- it has generated at least $40 million in revenue, and
- it employs an average of at least 250 employees; or
- is prescribed by regulations.
Global Issue
Estimates show that there are about 40 million people involved in modern slavery today. There are 152 million children (below the age of 18) in child labour today.
● 73 million children are in hazardous work.
● 96% of child labourers are contributing family workers.
● 71% of child labourers can be found in the agriculture sector.
Child labour in supply chains reduces production costs for goods and services. About 218 million children are involved in the employment of some sort – with 4.3 million being in forced child labour.
The risk is that companies with extended supply chains may not even realize there is forced or
child labour in their chains. Oftentimes, the main factor that adds to child labour is education or
the lack of it.
Canada
Canada has signed onto the sustainable development goal target of the elimination of all forms of child labour by 2025 and approximately 180 countries are working towards that goal.
Estimates show that more than 1,200 companies operating in Canada are importing goods that have been produced by child or forced labour.
- Canadian imported goods at risk of bring produced by child/forced labour in 2015 is worth $34 billion CAD.
- According to the 2018 Global Slavery Index, Canada ranked 6th highest globally for annual imports of the $15 billion USD worth of goods at-risk of being produced through modern slavery.
Quick Facts
- About 40 million people are involved in modern slavery. This is more than twice the number involved in the slave trade from the 16th to 19th century.
- It is estimated more than 1,200 companies operating in Canada are importing goods that have been produced by child or forced labor:
- Approximately $15 billion (US) worth of goods at-risk of being produced through modern
slavery are imported into Canada annually. - A recent poll by Ipsos Reid shows that 91% of Canadians want to know if child labor and
modern slavery has been used in the supply chain and what the government is doing to
combat it. - California, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Germany and the Netherlands are among jurisdictions that have introduced their own version of modern slavery legislation.
- In 2016, one in 10 children in the world were engaged in some form child labour. Currently, the decline of the use of child labour has stalled.
- 73 million children involved are in hazardous work including dangerous mining, agriculture, and fishery operations.
Bill Background
Bill S-211, the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act, seeks to combat modern slavery by bringing transparency to our supply chains. Under the Act, medium and large Canadian businesses and government institutions are now obligated to publish an annual report detailing the steps taken to prevent and reduce the risk that forced labour or child labour is used at any step in their production and importation processes.
This requires them to publicly disclose their structure, activities, and supply chains, to assess the risk of forced labour or child labour being used, and to detail their policies and due diligence processes to prevent and remediate any forced labour or child labour being used.
Furthermore, the Act provides for an inspection regime, empowering the government to investigate, issue orders and levy fines against any entity that fails to comply or makes a false statement. In summary, the goal of the Act is to help align Canadian businesses with the imperatives of social and environmental sustainability.
HISTORY OF THE BILL
2015
March 26: UK adopts Modern Slavery Act.
2017
March 27: France adopts human rights due diligence law.
2018
October 15: Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development presents report: “A call to action: ending the use of all forms of child labour in supply chains.”
December 13: MP John McKay introduces Bill C-423 (Bill dropped from the Order Paper on September 11, 2019 when Parliament was dissolved before the 2019 election).
2019
February 8: Canadian government issues response to Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International; Development report. The government broadly agrees with report.
October 24: The Netherlands adopts Child Labour Due diligence law.
2020
February 5: Senator Miville-Dechêne introduces Bill S-211 (Bill dropped from the Order Paper on August 18, 2020 when Parliament was prorogued).
July 1: As part of the implementation of the CUSMA, the importation of goods produced with forced labour is prohibited from entering Canada.
October 29: Senator Miville-Dechêne introduces Bill S-216 (Bill dropped from the Order Paper on August 15, 2021 when Parliament was dissolved before the 2021 election).
2021
June 11: Germany adopts Supply Chains Due Diligence law.
Fall 2021: Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) and Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) both promise action on forced labour and child labour in their electoral platforms.
October 22: Statement by G7 Trade Ministers on need to act against forced labour.
November 24: Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne introduces Bill S-211.
December 16:Mandate Letters for Minister of Labour, Minister of Public Safety, Minister of Public Services and Procurement, and Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development each include commitment to introduce legislation “to eradicate forced labour from Canadian supply chains.”
2022
April 28: Bill S-211 is passed by the Senate.
May 3: Bill S-211 is introduced in the House of Commons by MP John McKay.
2023
March 6: Bill S-211 third reading speech by MP John McKay.
April 26: Bill S-211 third reading speech by MP Arnold Viersen.
May 3: Bill S-211 is passed by the House of Commons.
May 11: Bill S-211 receives Royal Assent.
2024
January 1: Implementation date.
FAQs
Where do I file?
You can file a report using the following link:
https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/cntrng-crm/frcd-lbr-cndn-spply-chns/sbmt rprten.aspx
Who has to file a report?
All entities have to file the report.
Entity means a corporation or a trust, partnership or other unincorporated organisation that
- Is listed on a stock exchange in Canada;
- Has a place of business in Canada, does business in Canada or has assets in Canada and that, based on its consolidated financial statements, meets at least two of the following conditions for at least one of its two most recent financial years:
- It has at least $20 million in assets,
- It has generated at least $40 million in revenue, and
- It employs an average of at least 250 employees; or
- Is prescribed by regulations
What is the deadline for the report?
Reports have to be submitted before May 31st of each year.
What are the consequences for not filing a report?
Offences and Punishment
19 (1) Every person or entity that fails to comply with section 11 or 13, subsection 15(4) or an order made under section 18, or that contravenes section 17, is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine of not more than $250,000.
(2) Every person or entity that knowingly makes any false or misleading statement or knowingly provides false or misleading information to the Minister or a person designated under section 14 is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine of not more than $250,000.
What are the global consequences of this Act?
The Government of Canada is committed to establishing an accessible filing system designed to enhance transparency within supply chains for all regulatory entities.