Proposed Canadian Modern Slavery Bill draws needed attention to a pressing issue

Pavan, 10, digs with a spade to extract mica flakes, a common ingredient in Canadian beauty products. Jharkhand, India. Photo: World Vision

Mississauga, ON – Today in the House of Commons, the Honourable John McKay, P.C., Member of Parliament for Scarborough-Guildwood, tabled the Modern Slavery Bill. The proposed bill would oblige Canadian corporations to report on measures taken to prevent and reduce the risk of child and forced labour in their supply chains and would ban the import of such goods.
 
World Vision, Canada’s largest international advocacy, development and humanitarian agency, believes this bill is an important step towards broader political attention on this important Canadian issue. The bill builds on the momentum of an October 2018 House of Commons report with cross-party support which offered realistic solutions, including legislative action, that can and should be adopted to address child and forced labour in Canadian companies’ global supply chains.
 
World Vison Canada, alongside ten other civil society organizations, is calling on the Government of Canada, in its response to the parliamentary report, to join other global jurisdictions and commit to supply chain legislation that would require companies to conduct due diligence and report on its efforts to address child labour, modern slavery and other human rights risks in their operations and global supply chains.
 
FAST FACTS

• 152-million child labourers globally, 73-million doing work that is dirty, dangerous and degrading
• More than 1,200 Canadian companies importing $34-billion (2016) in “risky products” (World Vision).
• 91% of Canadians agree that the Canadian government should require companies to publicly report on who makes their products and what they are doing to reduce child labour in their supply chains (Ipsos)
• Canada risks falling behind in the global fight to eliminate child and forced labour in supply chains. Four significant jurisdictions, the UK, California, Australia and France, have all passed legislation to address modern slavery, child labour, and/or human rights issues in corporate supply chains. The Netherlands and Switzerland have laws in development

 
MEDIA RESOURCES
No Child for Sale digital media kit with photos, stories and reports on child labour: HERE
A Call to Action: Ending the Use of All Forms of Child Labour in Supply Chains: HERE
Background information on child labour in Canadian supply chains: HERE