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Bill C-243

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First Session, Forty-fourth Parliament,
70-71 Elizabeth II, 2021-2022
HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA
BILL C-243
An Act respecting the elimination of the use of forced labour and child labour in supply chains
FIRST READING, February 8, 2022
Mr. Powlowski
441119


SUMMARY

This enactment enacts the Ending the Use of Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act, which imposes an obligation on certain entities to report on the measures taken to prevent and reduce the risk that forced labour or child labour is used at any step in the production of goods in Canada or elsewhere by them or in the production of goods they import into Canada. The Act provides for an inspection regime and gives the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness the power to require an entity to provide certain information.
The enactment also amends the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act to require the Minister of Public Works and Government Services to ensure that, in relation to materiel or services acquired for the use of a government department, the risk that forced labour or child labour is used is prevented or reduced. It also requires the Minister to table annually in each House of Parliament a report on the measures taken during the previous year to prevent and reduce that risk.
Finally, the enactment makes a related amendment to the Customs Tariff.
Available on the House of Commons website at the following address:
www.ourcommons.ca


1st Session, 44th Parliament,
70-71 Elizabeth II, 2021-2022
HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA
BILL C-243
An Act respecting the elimination of the use of forced labour and child labour in supply chains

Preamble

Whereas the international community has made it a priority to eliminate the use of forced labour and child labour in supply chains;
Whereas, despite the progress made in reducing its prevalence, the use of forced labour and child labour remains widespread;
Whereas Canada is a party to the eight fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organization, which include the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957, and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999, and is therefore committed to contributing to the fight against the use of forced labour and child labour;
Whereas corporate social responsibility requires that business organizations monitor their supply chains with a view to eliminating the use of forced labour and child labour;
And whereas Parliament considers that the elimination of the use of forced labour and child labour in supply chains requires the imposition of reporting obligations on business organizations involved in the manufacture, production, growing, extraction or processing of goods in Canada or elsewhere or in the importation of goods manufactured, produced, grown, extracted or processed outside Canada;
Now, therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

Short Title

Short title
1 This Act may be cited as the Ending the Use of Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act.

Interpretation

Definitions
2 The following definitions apply in this Act.
child labour means labour or service provided or offered to be provided by persons under the age of 18 years under circumstances that
(a) with regard to labour or service that is provided or offered to be provided in Canada, are contrary to the laws applicable in Canada;
(b) are mentally, physically, socially or morally harmful to the persons providing it;
(c) interfere with their schooling or deprive them of the opportunity to attend school, including by obliging them to leave school prematurely or by requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long work hours; or
(d) involve an activity described in any of paragraphs (a) to (d) of the definition worst forms of child labour in article 3 of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999, adopted at Geneva on June 17, 1999. (travail des enfants)
entity means a corporation or a trust, partnership or other unincorporated organization that
(a) is listed on a stock exchange in Canada;
(b) has a place of business in Canada, does business in Canada or has assets in Canada and that, based on its consolidated financial statements, meets at least two of the following conditions for at least one of its two most recent financial years:
(i) it has at least $20 million in assets,
(ii) it has generated at least $40 million in revenue,
(iii) it employs an average of at least 250 employees; or
(c) is prescribed by regulations. (entité)
forced labour means labour or service provided or offered to be provided by a person
(a) under circumstances that could reasonably be expected to cause the person to believe that their safety or the safety of a person known to them would be threatened if they failed to provide, or offer to provide, the labour or service; or
(b) that constitutes forced or compulsory labour within the meaning of article 2 of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, adopted at Geneva on June 28, 1930. (travail forcé)
Minister means the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. (ministre)
production, in respect of goods, includes their manufacturing, growing, extraction and processing. (production de marchandises)

Purpose of Act

Purpose
3 The purpose of this Act is to implement Canada’s international commitment to contribute to the fight against the use of forced labour and child labour in supply chains through the imposition of reporting obligations on entities involved in the production of goods in Canada or elsewhere or in the importation of goods produced outside Canada.

Her Majesty

Binding on Her Majesty
4 This Act is binding on Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province.

Application

Entities
5 This Act applies to any entity that
(a) produces or sells goods in Canada or elsewhere;
(b) imports into Canada goods produced outside Canada; or
(c) controls an entity engaged in any activity described in paragraph (a) or (b).
Control
6 (1) Subject to the regulations, an entity is controlled by another entity if it is controlled by the other entity, directly or indirectly, in any manner.
Deemed control
(2) An entity that controls another entity is deemed to control any entity that is controlled or deemed to be controlled by the other entity.

Reporting Obligation

Annual report
7 (1) Every entity must, no later than May 31 of each year, report to the Minister on the steps it took during the previous year to prevent and reduce the risk that forced labour or child labour is used at any step of the production of goods in Canada or elsewhere by the entity or by any entity that it controls or of goods imported into Canada by the entity or by any entity that it controls.
Supplementary information
(2) In the report, the entity must also include information respecting
(a) its structure, business and supply chains;
(b) its policies in relation to forced labour and child labour;
(c) the parts of its business and supply chains that carry a risk of forced labour or child labour being used and the steps it has taken to assess and manage that risk;
(d) any measures taken to remediate any forced labour or child labour, including its due diligence processes;
(e) the training provided to its employees on forced labour and child labour; and
(f) the methods it uses to assess its effectiveness in ensuring that forced labour and child labour are not used in its business or supply chains.
Approval
(3) The governing body of the entity must approve the report and the approval must be evidenced by the manual signature of one or more of its members.
Form and manner
(4) The Minister may specify, in writing, the form and manner in which a report is to be provided. The requirements must be made available to the public in the manner that the Minister considers appropriate.
Revised report
8 (1) If, after a report is submitted under section 7, any information on which the report is based changes or if new information becomes available, the entity must provide the Minister with a revised report as soon as feasible.
Information to be included
(2)  In addition to the information required under subsection 7(2), the revised report must include the date of the revision and a description of the changes made.
Approval of revised report
(3) Subsection 7(3) applies in respect of a revised report.
Accessibility of report
9 (1) An entity must, on providing the Minister with a report in accordance with section 7 or 8, make the report available to the public, including by posting it in a prominent location on its website.
Report to be provided to shareholders
(2) An entity that is a corporation must provide its shareholders with each report it provides to the Minister under this Act, together with its annual financial statements.
Electronic registry
10 (1) The Minister must maintain an electronic registry containing a copy of every report provided under section 7 or 8.
Accessibility of registry
(2) The registry must be made available to the public on the website of the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

Administration and Enforcement

Designation

Designation
11 The Minister may designate persons or classes of persons for the purposes of the administration and enforcement of this Act.

Designated Person’s Powers

Entry into a place
12 (1) A designated person may, for the purpose of verifying compliance or preventing non-compliance with this Act or the regulations, enter a place in which they have reasonable grounds to believe that a document, information or other thing relating to the administration of this Act or the regulations is located.
Powers on entry
(2) The designated person may, for the purpose referred to in subsection (1),
(a) examine anything in the place, including any document;
(b) use any means of communication in the place, or cause it to be used;
(c) use any computer system in the place — or cause it to be used — to examine data contained in or available to it, or reproduce the data — or cause it to be reproduced — in the form of a printout or other intelligible output and remove any printout or output for examination or copying;
(d) prepare a document based on the data, or cause one to be prepared;
(e) use any copying equipment in the place, or cause it to be used;
(f) take photographs or make recordings or sketches of anything in the place;
(g) direct any person to put any equipment in the place into operation or to cease operating it;
(h) prohibit or limit access to all or part of the place or to anything in the place; and
(i) remove anything from the place for the purpose of examination.
Persons accompanying designated person
(3) The designated person may be accompanied by any person that they believe is necessary to help them exercise their powers or perform their duties or functions under this section.
Assistance
(4) The owner or person in charge of the place and every person in the place must give all assistance that is reasonably required to enable the designated person to exercise their powers or perform their duties or functions under this section and is to provide any documents or information, and access to any data, that is reasonably required for that purpose.
Warrant to enter dwelling-house
13 (1) If the place referred to in subsection 12(1) is a dwelling-house, the designated person may enter it without the occupant’s consent only under the authority of a warrant issued under subsection (2).
Authority to issue warrant
(2) On ex parte application, a justice of the peace may issue a warrant authorizing the designated person to enter a dwelling-house, subject to any conditions specified in the warrant, if the justice is satisfied by information on oath that
(a) the dwelling-house is a place referred to in subsection 12(1);
(b) entry to the dwelling-house is necessary for the purposes referred to in subsection 12(1); and
(c) entry was refused by the occupant or there are reasonable grounds to believe that it will be refused or that consent to entry cannot be obtained from the occupant.
Obstruction
14 A person must not obstruct or hinder a person who is exercising powers or performing duties or functions under this Act.

Order — Corrective Measures

Minister’s power
15 If, on the basis of information obtained under section 12, the Minister is of the opinion that an entity is not in compliance with any of sections 7 to 9, the Minister may, by order, require the entity to take any measures that the Minister considers to be necessary to ensure compliance with those provisions.

Regulations

Regulations
16 The Governor in Council may make regulations for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act, including regulations
(a) prescribing other entities for the purpose of the definition entity;
(b) respecting the circumstances in which this Act does not apply to entities;
(c) respecting the circumstances in which an entity is controlled by another entity; and
(d) prescribing anything that may, by this Act, be prescribed.

Offences and Punishment

Offence
17 (1) Every person or entity that fails to comply with any of sections 7 to 9, subsection 12(4) or an order made under section 15, or that contravenes section 14, is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine of not more than $250,000.
False or misleading statement or information
(2) Every person or entity that knowingly makes any false or misleading statement or knowingly provides false or misleading information to the Minister or a person designated under section 11 is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine of not more than $250,000.
Liability of officers, directors, etc.
18 If an entity commits an offence under this Act, any officer, director or agent or mandatary of the entity who directed, authorized, assented to, acquiesced in or participated in its commission is a party to and guilty of the offence and liable on conviction to the punishment provided for by this Act, whether or not the entity has been prosecuted or convicted.
Offence by employee or agent or mandatary
19 In a prosecution for an offence under subsection 17(1), it is sufficient proof of the offence to establish that it was committed by an employee or agent or mandatary of the accused, whether or not the employee or agent or mandatary is identified or has been prosecuted for the offence, unless the accused establishes that they exercised due diligence to prevent its commission.

Report to Parliament

Annual report
20 (1) The Minister must cause to be tabled in each House of Parliament, on or before September 30 of each year or, if a House is not then sitting, on any of the next 30 days on which that House is sitting, a report containing
(a) a general summary of the parts of business and supply chains of entities that provided a report under this Act for the previous year that carry a risk of forced labour or child labour being used;
(b) the steps that entities have taken to assess and manage that risk; and
(c) if applicable, measures taken by entities to remediate any forced labour or child labour.
Publication
(2) The Minister must publish the report in a prominent place on the website of the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness within 30 days after it has been tabled in both Houses of Parliament.

Review of the Act

Review by committee
21 (1) At the start of the fifth year after the day on which this section comes into force, a comprehensive review of this Act must be undertaken by the committee of the Senate, of the House of Commons or of both Houses of Parliament that may be designated or established by the Senate or the House of Commons, or by both Houses of Parliament, as the case may be, for that purpose.
Report to Parliament
(2) The committee referred to in subsection (1) must, within one year after the review is undertaken under that subsection, submit a report to the House or Houses of Parliament of which it is a committee, including a statement setting out any changes to the Act that the committee recommends.
1996, c. 16

Department of Public Works and Government Services Act

22 (1) Subsection 7(1) of the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act is amended by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (c) and by adding the following after that paragraph:
Start of inserted block
(c.‍1) ensure that, in relation to any materiel or services acquired for the use of any department, the risk that forced labour or child labour is used is prevented or reduced; and
End of inserted block
(2) Section 7 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1):
Annual report
Start of inserted block
(1.‍1) The Minister must cause to be tabled in each House of Parliament, on or before October 1 of each year or, if the House is not then sitting, on any of the first 15 days of the next sitting of the House, a report on the measures taken during the previous calendar year to prevent and reduce the risk that forced labour or child labour is used in relation to any materiel or services acquired for the use of any department.
End of inserted block
1997, c. 36

Related Amendment to the Customs Tariff

23 The Description of Goods of tariff item No. 9897.‍00.‍00 in the List of Tariff Provisions set out in the schedule to the Customs Tariff is amended by replacing the reference to “Goods mined, manufactured or produced wholly or in part by forced labour” with a reference to “Goods mined, manufactured or produced wholly or in part by forced labour or child labour as those terms are defined in section 2 of the Ending the Use of Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act”.

Coming into Force

January 1
24 This Act comes into force on January 1 of the year following the year in which it receives royal assent.
Published under authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons

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