CANADA Law and Practice Contributed by: Claudia Feldkamp and Chris Pigott, Fasken
Canada’s 2022 RBC Strategy is an example of “soft law” that seeks to encourage compliance, not through binding domestic legislation, but by also linking trade-related government advo - cacy support for companies operating overseas with whether those companies are meeting or exceeding internationally recognised standards such as the UNGPs and the OECD Guidelines. Trade Commissioner Services (TCS), which pro - vides a variety of support for Canadian compa - nies operating in other countries, could be with - drawn where businesses fail “to comply with Canada’s responsible business conduct laws, policies and standards” . Responsible Business Conduct Due Diligence Standard As noted in the 2022 RBC Strategy, the Canadian government is working with the Canadian Gen - eral Standards Board to develop a Responsible Business Conduct Due Diligence Standard. This standard has not been released and it remains unclear how responsible business conduct due diligence will be defined. It is uncertain whether this new standard will lay out expectations that companies engage in due diligence in relation to a broad range of human rights impacts, con - sistent with the UNGPs, or if it will be limited to certain violations of human rights such as forced labour and child labour – thereby aligning it with Canada’s import ban and supply chain transpar - ency legislation. Federal Procurement Policy The Canadian government has taken several steps to incorporate its business and human rights expectations into federal procurement policy. Canada has implemented procurement-related requirements for suppliers contracting with the Canadian federal government. All clothing and
textile suppliers contracting with the federal government are required to self-certify that they, and their direct Canadian and foreign suppliers, conduct their business in accordance with the eight fundamental human and labour rights con - tained in the ILO conventions binding on mem - ber states. Since the launch of this policy in 2018, all new apparel procurement contracts entered into with the Canadian government include the ethical procurement certification. The Code of Conduct for Procurement is man - datory for all Canadian government procure - ments and requires that suppliers not engage in any form of human and labour rights abuses. The Canadian federal government’s central pur - chaser, Public Services and Procurement Cana - da (PSPC), includes anti-forced labour clauses in all standing offers and supply arrangements as well as service contracts. Under the anti-forced labour clauses, suppliers must not provide, deliver or sell goods or services to Canada that have been produced wholly or in part by forced labour. The PSPC is planning to implement in 2025 a departmental policy on ethical procurement, which will form the basis for the PSPC’s ethical procurement initiatives, training programmes, and tools for suppliers. A human rights due dili - gence framework with specific guidance for sup - pliers is also under development by the PSPC. Export Credit Agency The Canadian government has incorporated its business and human rights expectations into the decision-making processes of its export credit agency, Export Development Canada (EDC). EDC has implemented an internal, risk-
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