Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan backs Senate forced labour bill

Members of Parliament unanimously voted Wednesday to backa bill requiring Canadian companies to ensure they are not using forced labour or exploiting child workers overseas.

Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan ensured government backing for the private member's bill that would make Canadian firms and government departments scrutinize supply chains with the aim of protecting workers.

O'Regan said the Liberals want the bill, introduced by a senator, to go to committee where it may be strengthened further with government amendments.

"We need to substantively tackle forced labour in our supply chains. Bill S-211 is an important first step," hesaid in a media statement.

"We voted to send this bill to committee. There, we'll look at amendments to strengthen it ...Ultimately, we want to pass legislation that will be effective against forced labour."

In a vote in the House of Commons at the bill's second reading, it was backed unanimously by MPs, including the Conservatives, Bloc Quebecois, NDP and Greens.

Most private member's bills introduced by individuals rather than the government do not receive ministerial backing, parliamentary time or proceed through all the parliamentary stages needed to become law.

The bill, tabled by Sen. Julie Miville-Dechene, would make Canadian firms confirmthat none of their products or components are made in sweatshops employing children or by people forced to work excessive hours for free or for paltry pay.

The senator has warned that such products as coffee, cocoa and sugar cane may be linked to child labour or made in factories in the Xinjiang region of China, where members of the Uyghur community are forced to work.

The senator's bill is one of a number of private billson forced labour in supply chains that politicians have attempted to get backing for in the past four years.

They include a bill tabled by Liberal MP John McKay, who has long argued for action to make companies ensure their products are not produced overseas by forced labour or children.

Liberal MP Marcus Powlowski recently tabled the same bill as McKay's and the NDP has tabled two similar bills.

The senator's bill, known as Bill S-211 in Parliament, will now move to the foreign affairs committee for scrutiny, a further parliamentary stage before becoming law.

Millions of children in forced labour: HoC report

A report by the House of Commons international human rights subcommittee said that in 2016 some 4.3 million children were involved in forced labour, a figure the International Labour Organization warned was an underestimate.

The report warned that child labour most often occurs at the lowest tiers of the supply chain out of the sight of buyers, inspectors and consumers. In South and Southeast Asia, children have been found making clothes, fishing and processing seafood.

The report found child labour interferes with young people's educationand can involve work in hazardous conditions, with toxic substances or at extreme temperatures.

It can also include confinement at work sites and indentured labour, where whole families are forced to work to repay debts.

Rocio Domingo Ramos, business and human rights policy and research officer at Anti-Slavery International, has warned that Canada is lagging behind countries such as France, Germany and Norway which have already introduced laws requiring firms to check their supply chains to make sure their products are not made using forced labour.

In 2020, the Canadian government prohibited importation of goods produced by forced labour under the customs tariff.

Miville-Dechene has warned that at least 90 million children and adults around the world could be involved in forced labour.