CANADA Law and Practice Contributed by: Claudia Feldkamp and Chris Pigott, Fasken
This initiative forms part of the government’s efforts to strengthen compliance with interna - tional human and labour rights in supply chains. It also aligns with Canada’s ongoing commit - ments under CUSMA. Strengthening Enforcement of Import Ban – Measures Under Consideration In the autumn of 2024, the Canadian government undertook consultations to consider potential new measures to strengthen the enforcement of Canada’s ban on the import of goods pro - duced by forced labour, in alignment with Mexi - co and the USA. These consultations, as well as the public consultations held earlier in October 2023 on the eradication of forced labour from the country’s supply chains through mandatory human rights due diligence and other measures, form part of the government’s broader effort to strengthen compliance with international human and labour rights in supply chains. A number of measures are currently being considered by the Canadian government to strengthen Canada’s ban on imports of goods from forced labour. One such measure is the publication of a list – informed by ILO indicators and other sources – of “goods at risk of forced labour” . The list would identify those goods and their origin countries with a prevalent risk of being produced by forced labour and would likely take a similar form to the US Bureau of International Labor’s List of Goods Produced by Forced Labor or Child Labor. The Canadian government is also considering amending legislation to require importers to pro - vide evidence in order to rebut a presumption that goods from “goods at risk of forced labour” list have been manufactured using forced labour or child labour. The creation of such “reverse onus” on importers for categories of goods
from specific countries would have significant implications for Canada’s anti-forced labour regime, increasing the pressure on companies to engage in robust due diligence of their supply chains and expanding traceability requirements. A precedent for such a reverse onus requirement is found in the regulations currently in force in the USA under the Uyghur Forced Labor Preven - tion Act, which creates a reverse onus on goods sourced from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. Penalties for Non-Compliance A wide range of civil and criminal penalties for non-compliance are available under the Cus - toms Act, including fines, imprisonment, or both. 2.2.4 Transparency and Reporting Requirements Supply Chain Transparency Legislation On 1 January 2024, the Supply Chains Act came into force. The Supply Chains Act is Canada’s first legislation aimed at preventing and reduc - ing the risk of forced and child labour in supply chains of Canadian companies operating glob - ally. Reporting obligations The Supply Chains Act requires certain entities and government institutions to publicly report on the steps taken during the previous financial year to prevent and reduce the risk that forced or child labour is used at any step of the pro - duction of goods in Canada or elsewhere by the business or at any step of the production of goods imported into Canada by the business. The Supply Chains Act establishes an ongoing annual reporting obligation, with reports due on or before May 31st of each year.
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