In 2024, the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act (the “Act”) came into force. The goal of the Act was to contribute to the fight against modern slavery, including child and forced labour by creating reporting obligations on organizations to assess their supply chains. For those of you who have been following our blog, you may recall our previous blog post discussing the Act, our applicability flowchart and our FAQ, designed to assist organizations in assessing their reporting obligations under the Act.
In June, Parliament took another step to strengthen restrictions on the use of forced labour, tabling that takes aim at the importation of goods produced with forced labour, Bill C-35 (An Act respecting the prohibition of the importation of goods produced by forced labour). Bill C-35 is currently awaiting second reading in the House of Commons, meaning it has yet to be passed and may be subject to further changes.
If passed, Bill C-35 would create a blanket prohibition on the importation of certain goods deemed to be produced wholly or in part with forced labour. Organizations importing classes of goods which the Minister of Foreign Affairs determines are likely to be produced wholly or in part by forced labour, upon request, would be required to provide certain information regarding the goods to the Canada Border Services Agency (the “CBSA”).
In many cases, a person or organization accused of importing goods produced wholly or in part by forced labour would bear the onus of demonstrating the origin and identity of the goods. Any person or organization who willfully evades or attempts to evade compliance with the provisions of Bill C-35, including a director or officer of a company who authorizes such conduct, would be deemed to have contravened the Customs Act and may face a fine of up to $500,000 and/or a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years.
With the advent of Bill C-35, identifying the use of forced or child labour in an organization’s chain has become even more important. When contracting with suppliers, organizations should obtain enough information about the source of labour used, as well as reserve the rights to audit their suppliers and request necessary if required by the CBSA.
To ensure your organization is meeting its reporting obligations, please review applicability flowchart and FAQ. If you are interested in learning more or have any questions, please do not hesitate to the authors or another member of our Labour, Employment and Human Rights Group.