Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act (S.C. 2023, c. 9)
Full Document:
- HTMLFull Document: Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act (Accessibility Buttons available) |
- XMLFull Document: Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act [46 KB] |
- PDFFull Document: Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act [221 KB]
Act current to 2023-11-14
Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act
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
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
- The following provision is not in force.
(a) are provided or offered to be provided in Canada under circumstances that are contrary to the laws applicable in Canada;
- The following provision is not in force.
(b) are provided or offered to be provided under circumstances that are mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous to them;
- The following provision is not in force.
(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
- The following provision is not in force.
(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
- The following provision is not in force.
(a) is listed on a stock exchange in Canada;
- The following provision is not in force.
(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
- The following provision is not in force.
(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
- The following provision is not in force.
(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
- The following provision is not in force.
(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
- The following provision is not in force.
(a) government institutions producing, purchasing or distributing goods in Canada or elsewhere; and
- The following provision is not in force.
(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
- The following provision is not in force.
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.
- The following provision is not in force.
Marginal note:Supplementary information
(2) The report must also include the following information in respect of the government institution:
- The following provision is not in force.
(a) its structure, activities and supply chains;
- The following provision is not in force.
(b) its policies and due diligence processes in relation to forced labour and child labour;
- The following provision is not in force.
(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;
- The following provision is not in force.
(d) any measures taken to remediate any forced labour or child labour;
- The following provision is not in force.
(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;
- The following provision is not in force.
(f) the training provided to employees on forced labour and child labour; and
- The following provision is not in force.
(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.
- The following provision is not in force.
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:Revised report
- The following provision is not in force.
7 (1) The head of a government institution may provide the Minister with a revised version of the report provided under section 6.
- The following provision is not in force.
Marginal note:Content of revised report
(2) The revised version of the report must, in addition to the information required under subsection 6(2), indicate the date of the revision and include a description of the changes made to the original report.
Marginal note:Accessibility of report
8 The head of every government institution must, on providing the Minister with a report under section 6 or a revised report under section 7, make the report available to the public, including by publishing it in a prominent place on the government institution’s website.
PART 2Reporting Obligation — Entities
Application
Marginal note:Entities
9 This Part applies to any entity
- The following provision is not in force.
(a) producing, selling or distributing goods in Canada or elsewhere;
- The following provision is not in force.
(b) importing into Canada goods produced outside Canada; or
- The following provision is not in force.
(c) controlling an entity engaged in any activity described in paragraph (a) or (b).
Marginal note:Control
- The following provision is not in force.
10 (1) For the purposes of this Part and subject to the regulations, an entity is controlled by another entity if it is directly or indirectly controlled by that other entity in any manner.
- The following provision is not in force.
Marginal note:Deemed control
(2) An entity that controls another entity is deemed to control any entity that is controlled or deemed to be controlled by the other entity.
Annual Report
Marginal note:Annual report
- The following provision is not in force.
11 (1) Every entity must, on or before May 31 of each year, report to the Minister on the steps the entity 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 in Canada or elsewhere by the entity or of goods imported into Canada by the entity.
- The following provision is not in force.
Marginal note:Single or joint report
(2) An entity may comply with subsection (1) either
- The following provision is not in force.
(a) by providing a report in respect of the entity; or
- The following provision is not in force.
(b) by being party to a joint report in respect of more than one entity.
- The following provision is not in force.
Marginal note:Supplementary information
(3) The report must also include the following information in respect of each entity subject to the report:
- The following provision is not in force.
(a) its structure, activities and supply chains;
- The following provision is not in force.
(b) its policies and its due diligence processes in relation to forced labour and child labour;
- The following provision is not in force.
(c) the parts of its business 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;
- The following provision is not in force.
(d) any measures taken to remediate any forced labour or child labour;
- The following provision is not in force.
(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;
- The following provision is not in force.
(f) the training provided to employees on forced labour and child labour; and
- The following provision is not in force.
(g) how the entity assesses its effectiveness in ensuring that forced labour and child labour are not being used in its business and supply chains.
- The following provision is not in force.
Marginal note:Approval of report
(4) The report must be approved,
- The following provision is not in force.
(a) in the case of a report in respect of a single entity, by its governing body; or
- The following provision is not in force.
(b) in the case of a joint report, either
(i) by the governing body of each entity included in the report, or
(ii) by the governing body of the entity, if any, that controls each entity included in the report.
- The following provision is not in force.
Marginal note:Attestation of the report
(5) The approval of the report must be evidenced by
- The following provision is not in force.
(a) a statement that sets out whether it was approved pursuant to paragraph (4)(a) or subparagraph (4)(b)(i) or (ii); and
- The following provision is not in force.
(b) the signature of one or more members of the governing body of each entity that approved the report.
- The following provision is not in force.
Marginal note:Form and manner
(6) 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:Revised report
- The following provision is not in force.
12 (1) An entity may provide the Minister with a revised version of the report provided under section 11.
- The following provision is not in force.
Marginal note:Content of revised report
(2) The revised version of the report must, in addition to the information required under subsection 11(3), indicate the date of the revision and include a description of the changes made to the original report.
- The following provision is not in force.
Marginal note:Approval and attestation
(3) Subsections 11(4) and (5) apply in respect of a revised report.
Marginal note:Accessibility of report
- The following provision is not in force.
13 (1) An entity must, on providing the Minister with a report under section 11 or a revised report under section 12, make the report available to the public, including by publishing it in a prominent place on its website.
- The following provision is not in force.
Marginal note:Federal corporations
(2) Any entity that is incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations Act or any other Act of Parliament must provide the report or revised report to each shareholder, along with its annual financial statements.
- Date modified: