ONTARIO – A Parliamentary report in Canada has called for legislation to ensure businesses disclose steps they are taking to address child and forced labour in global supply chains. The report is based on a study which found the garment industry is among those that are at a particularly high risk for using child labour. “There is no single ‘silver bullet’ in the fight against child labour, which takes many forms,” says the report. “Canada has already taken the first steps towards the elimination of child labour in supply chains. Nevertheless, global progress to eliminate the use of child labour has stalled. The time to take more concerted action, in the form of legislative and policy initiatives that motivate businesses to end the use of child labour, is now.”
Canada’s Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development (the Subcommittee) undertook a study on child labour in supply chains and recommends the Government of Canada systematically focuses on eliminating all forms of child labour, including by enhancing its support for programmess that target child labour’s root causes.
“Despite the progress made by certain industries [with voluntary CSR guidelines and initiatives] … witnesses identified persistent challenges,” says the report. “For example, companies’ internal audits usually extend to only the first tier of production and capture just a single point in time, while human rights violations such as child labour tend to exist further down the supply chain and represent an ongoing issue. Likewise, when best practices are not disseminated, the result is an uneven playing field for businesses.”
The report adds: “… with due consideration for Canada’s constitutional division of powers, the Subcommittee recommends that the Government of Canada advance legislative and policy measures to further motivate businesses to eliminate the use of all forms of child labour in their supply chains. The Government of Canada will have the benefit of evaluating models chosen by like-minded states… Canada has already taken the first steps towards the elimination of child labour in supply chains. Nevertheless, global progress to eliminate the use of child labour has stalled. The time to take more concerted action, in the form of legislative and policy initiatives that motivate businesses to end the use of child labour, is now.”