Canada Imposes Forced And Child Labour Reporting Obligations

The House of Commons has adopted Bill S-211, whose short title is Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act (the Bill). The Bill, which was adopted on May 3, 2023, will become law as soon as it receives royal assent and will enter into force on January 1, 2024.

The Bill recognizes that forced labour and child labour are forms of modern slavery and reiterates Canada's commitment to fight against modern slavery under the fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organization. Following various other jurisdictions (such as the United Kingdom, Australia and France), Canada's new legislation imposes reporting obligations with respect to labour in supply chains that are comparable to those under the Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act. These new reporting requirements will affect federal departments, ministries and Crown corporations, as well as public companies and private companies of a certain size.