OTTAWA, UNCEDED ALGONQUIN TERRITORY, 29 October 2026 – Canada should put workers’ interests first in its efforts to fight forced labour in supply chains, experts from around the world told legislators today at a briefing on Parliament Hill.
Their comments come as Ottawa is weighing new measures to discourage Canadian companies from supporting labour abuse in their global supply chains.
The government tabled a bill in June, Bill C-35, that would overhaul how it enforces Canada’s ban on importing goods made with forced labour. The ban was adopted in 2020 but has gone largely unenforced, which has drawn sharp criticism from the U.S. administration.
“The fundamental goal of Canada’s enforcement actions must be better conditions for workers,” says Carolina Rudnick, President of Fundación Libera, which has recently documented Canadian supply chain links to forced labour in Chile’s salmon and agricultural industry. “The ban should be enforced in a way that supports workers’ own efforts to defend their rights.”
“Efforts to strengthen enforcement of Canada’s import ban are long overdue,” says Mehmet Tohti, Executive Director of the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project. “A stronger ban would help prevent goods produced through state-imposed forced labour, including goods from Xinjiang, from continuing to enter the Canadian market.”
Ottawa has announced it may also draft a new law to impose “due diligence” requirements on companies in regards to labour abuse in their supply chains. It has yet to decide if it will make these requirements enforceable through civil liability.
“Due diligence obligations can only be meaningfully enforced through the courts,” says Karen Hamilton, Director of Above Ground. “When workers in a company’s supply chain suffer grave abuse and say that the company didn’t take all reasonable steps to prevent it, a court should be hearing their claims, and ordering remedy where justified.”
Senators and MPs from all parties attended the briefing, organized by Above Ground in collaboration with the Coalition Against Forced Labour in Trade and the All Party Parliamentary Group to End Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking.
For media inquiries, please contact Karen Hamilton at khamilton@aboveground.ngo or 438-992-5163, or Georgina Alonso at galonso@aboveground.ngo.
Above Ground is a Canadian human rights and accountability project operating on the shared platform of MakeWay Charitable Society. It strives to ensure that companies based in Canada or supported by the Canadian state respect human rights and the environment wherever they operate.
The Coalition Against Forced Labour in Trade is an international network of civil society organizations promoting the adoption and enforcement of import bans against goods made using forced labour. The Coalition, launched in September 2023, aims to ensure there is no safe harbour for goods tainted by forced labour in any country.