Above Ground and other members of the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability provided the UN working group on business and human rights with input during its 2017 country visit to Canada. Among other issues, civil society organizations raised the lack of policy or legal mechanisms in Canada to ensure that Canadian corporations respect human rights domestically and abroad. Civil society also raised concerns about barriers that impede access to remedy in Canada by foreigners who suffer harm associated with the operations of Canadian companies.
This submission from Above Ground provides the working group with complementary and updated information in anticipation of the release of its Canada visit report. The submission focuses on the Canadian government’s newly announced human rights ombudsperson and on the state-business nexus.
June 2018 update:
The UN working group has released the final report on its visit to Canada, with detailed findings and recommendations to government, industry and civil society to prevent, mitigate and address the adverse human rights impacts of business activities.