Canada eliminates human rights watchdog that oversees companies operating abroad | Canada
Canada is eliminating the watchdog that investigates alleged human rights abuses committed by Canadian companies operating abroad after Mark Carney said the office had not been “effective” since it was established in 2019.
The move comes as Canada faces criticism from Donald Trump’s administration for its “unacceptable” efforts to combat forced labor.
The Canadian Ombudsman for Responsible Business (Core) was established by the government of former prime minister Justin Trudeau to investigate the use of forced labor in industry. At the time, the focus was on China’s use of the Uyghur ethnic minority for what critics call forced labor. Despite years of public reporting by human rights groups, Beijing disputes allegations that it is engaging in modern slavery.
But in six years, Canada’s watchdog has launched only five investigations, including into three U.S. apparel companies operating in the country (Ralph Lauren, Nike and Levi Strauss) and two mining companies (GobiMin and Dynasty Gold Corp).
In each case, the allegations focused on the use of forced labor in China’s northeastern Xinjiang region. The watchdog also used the mediation mechanism after Hugo Boss faced allegations that it used Uyghurs in forced labor. Core issued formal recommendations against only two companies.
As part of the austerity measures, Carney said the Liberals would review the functions of various offices in the federal government and make cuts where resources were used inefficiently.
“Part of the government’s duty is to look at things, see if they’re effective and try to improve them,” he said, adding that the decision to cut the role was made “a few months ago”. He said that although Canada has formal legislation to combat this problem: Law to Combat Forced Labor and Child Labor in Supply Chainsit was “less effective” in enforcing these laws.
Despite criticism of the watchdog, federal ministers have called it an important part of Canada’s efforts to combat human rights abuses. When Canadian finance minister François-Philippe Champagne toured China as part of a trade mission in the spring, he cited the Core as a safeguard against the use of forced labor in Chinese cars that might one day be sold in Canada.
Other lawmakers say the oversight agency needs resources, not elimination.
“CORE has never been given the independence or power it needs to do its job properly,” Green party leader Elizabeth May said in a statement. “The Green Party has long called for this office to be strengthened so that it can actually investigate abuses, challenge evidence and ensure accountability. The solution to a flawed office cannot be to eliminate it altogether.”
The new law would create a public list of products associated with forced labor in certain regions and require importers to prove certain products from the listed regions were not made through slavery, the Liberals said Friday.
The move comes after the United States called out Canada and 80 other countries for their inability to tackle forced labor in their supply chains.
The White House recently announced it would impose tariffs on Canada, citing weak enforcement rules on goods produced with forced labor. Liberals say their new laws should address issues raised by the Trump administration.
