Members of Parliament unanimously voted Wednesday to clamp down on modern slavery by backing a 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. 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.
The bill, tabled in the Senate by Sen. Julie Miville-Dechene, would make Canadian firms check that none of their products or components are made in sweatshops employing children or adults forced to work excessive hours for free or for paltry pay. The senator has warned that a number of products sold in Canada, including coffee, cocoa and sugarcane, may be linked to child or forced labour. She has also warned about imports of products made in factories in the Xinjiang region of China where members of the Uyghur community have been forced to work.
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.
This was excerpted from the 1 June 2022 edition of Global News.