The Canadian government recently passed the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act. The new law is designed to address forced labour and child labour in supply chains by requiring companies to disclose their efforts in eliminating labour abuse from their supply chains.
The legislation, known colloquially as Canada’s Modern Slavery Act, does not require large Canadian companies to actually take actions to prevent or reduce the risk of forced labour and child labour in their supply chains.
The act also doesn’t hold companies accountable when forced labour is found. Similar weak disclosure laws in California, the United Kingdom and Australia have already been found to be ineffective by academic researchers.
Our recent investigation at the Governing Forced Labour in Supply Chains Project into the Canadian apparel company Lululemon Athletica casts doubt on the ability of this new law to tackle labour abuse.
The new law falls short of what is required to make large corporations exercise due diligence to prevent labour abuse from occurring within their supply chains.
Remembering Rana Plaza
This new Canadian law comes a decade after the tragic collapse of the nine-storey Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh that killed nearly 1,130 garment workers and injured over 2,500. The disaster raised concerns about the ability of voluntary corporate initiatives to address labour rights violations and protect workers.
In response to the tragedy, an agreement between brands, retailers and trade unions called the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh was established. The accord was designed to improve workplace safety and prevent future accidents in the garment sector.
Building on this initiative, the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry — with 198 brand and retailer signatories — was introduced in 2021.
Remarkably, only one Canadian garment company — Loblaw Companies Ltd., the parent company of the Joe Fresh brand — has signed the accord. Other Canadian companies prefer their own voluntary initiatives.
Legislation aimed at addressing forced labour in supply chains has the potential to address these weak corporate initiatives — but only if the law is strong enough.