Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act (S.C. 2023, c. 9)

• Published date: 27 October 2023
• Date: 11 May 2023
• Gazette Issue: 1 - [object Object]
• Section: Part III - Acts of Parliament

S.C. 2023, c. 9

Assented to 2023-05-11

An Act to enact the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act and to amend the Customs Tariff

SUMMARY

This enactment enacts the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act, which imposes an obligation on certain government institutions and private-sector entities to report on the measures taken to prevent and reduce the risk that forced labour or child labour is used by them or in their supply chains. The Act provides for an inspection regime applicable to entities and gives the Minister the power to require an entity to provide certain information.

This enactment also amends the Customs Tariff to allow for a prohibition on the importation of goods manufactured or produced, in whole or in part, by forced labour or child labour as those terms are defined in the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act.

Preamble

Whereas forced labour and child labour are forms of modern slavery;

Whereas Canada, as a party to the eight fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organization on fundamental labour rights — including the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, adopted in Geneva on June 28, 1930; the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957, adopted in Geneva on June 25, 1957; and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999, adopted at Geneva on June 17, 1999 — is determined to contribute to the fight against modern slavery;

And whereas Parliament considers that it is essential to contribute to fighting modern slavery, including by imposing reporting obligations on government institutions involved in producing, purchasing or distributing goods in Canada or elsewhere and on entities involved in manufacturing, producing, growing, extracting or processing goods in Canada or elsewhere or in importing goods manufactured, produced, grown, extracted or processed outside Canada;

Now, therefore, His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

Short Title

Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act.

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

2 The following definitions apply in this Act.

child labour

child labour means labour or services provided or offered to be provided by persons under the age of 18 years and that

• (a) are provided or offered to be provided in Canada under circumstances that are contrary to the laws applicable in Canada;

• (b) are provided or offered to be provided under circumstances that are mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous to them;

• (c) 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

• (d) 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. (travail des enfants)

entity

entity means a corporation or a trust, partnership or other unincorporated organization that

• (a) is listed on a stock exchange in Canada;

• (b) 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:

  • (i) it has at least $20 million in assets,

  • (ii) it has generated at least $40 million in revenue, and

  • (iii) it employs an average of at least 250 employees; or

• (c) is prescribed by regulations. (entité)

forced labour

forced labour means labour or service provided or offered to be provided by a person under circumstances that

• (a) 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

• (b) constitute forced or compulsory labour as defined in article 2 of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, adopted in Geneva on June 28, 1930. (travail forcé)

governing body

governing body means the body or group of members of the entity with primary responsibility for the governance of the entity. (corps dirigeant)

government institution

government institution has the same meaning as in section 3 of the Access to Information Act. (institution fédérale)

head

head has the same meaning as in section 3 of the Access to Information Act. (responsable d’institution fédérale)

Minister

Minister means the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. (ministre)

production of goods

production of goods includes the manufacturing, growing, extracting and processing of goods. (production de marchandises)

Purpose of Act

Marginal note:Purpose

3 The purpose of this Act is to implement Canada’s international commitment to contribute to the fight against forced labour and child labour through the imposition of reporting obligations on

• (a) government institutions producing, purchasing or distributing goods in Canada or elsewhere; and

• (b) entities producing goods in Canada or elsewhere or in importing goods produced outside Canada.

His Majesty

Marginal note:Binding on His Majesty

4 This Act is binding on His Majesty in right of Canada or a province.

PART 1Reporting Obligation — Government Institution Application

Marginal note:Government institutions

5 This Part applies to any government institution producing, purchasing or distributing goods in Canada or elsewhere.

Annual Report

Marginal note:Annual report

• 6 (1) The head of every government institution must, on or before May 31 of each year, report to the Minister on the steps the government institution has taken during its previous financial year to prevent and reduce the risk that forced labour or child labour is used at any step of the production of goods produced, purchased or distributed by the government institution.

• Marginal note:Supplementary information

  (2) The report must also include the following information in respect of the government institution:

  • (a) its structure, activities and supply chains;

  • (b) its policies and due diligence processes in relation to forced labour and child labour;

  • (c) the parts of its activities and supply chains that carry a risk of forced labour or child labour being used and the steps it has taken to assess and manage that risk;

  • (d) any measures taken to remediate any forced labour or child labour;

  • (e) any measures taken to remediate the loss of income to the most vulnerable families that results from any measure taken to eliminate the use of forced labour or child labour in its activities and supply chains;

  • (f) the training provided to employees on forced labour and child labour; and

  • (g) how the government institution assesses its effectiveness in ensuring that forced labour and child labour are not being used in its activities and supply chains.

• Marginal note:Form and manner

  (3) The Minister may specify, in writing, the form and manner in which a report is to be provided. The requirements must be made available to the public in the manner that the Minister considers appropriate.

Marginal note:...