OPINION – World Vision Canada CEO Michael Messenger on why Ottawa should pass Bill S-211
*Originally published in the Hill Times on February 15, 2023 – click here to read
Prices are not the only thing going up when we shop. Sadly, it has never been more likely that a child has helped source or produce an item purchased here in Canada.
Child labour is on the rise globally for the first time in two decades. More than 160 million boys and girls are in some form of labour, including 79 million in dirty, dangerous, and degrading jobs that compromise their health and safety.
In World Vision Canada’s latest report issued this month, we detail how Canada imported nearly $48-billion worth of goods at risk of being produced by child labour or forced labour in 2021—an increase of more than 50 per cent since 2011, representing more than 7.5 per cent of our total imports.
Indeed, increases in child labour and risky imports come at a time when it is increasingly difficult to afford to live. Conflict, climate change, and the enduring economic impacts of COVID-19 have all resulted in sharp increases in the cost of living around the world. In many of the countries in which World Vision operates, families are increasingly needing supplementary incomes from their children to survive. Far too often, this often comes at the cost of their education.
Canadians want to make purchases that have a positive impact on people and the planet, but navigating the various human rights risks posed by our everyday purchases is no easy task. Of the nearly 100 risky goods imported from more than 50 countries in 2021, most are everyday household products, including electronics, clothing, coffee, meat, and produce.
And companies are not required to be transparent about their supply chain practices, meet common standards, or even prevent human rights abuses throughout their supply chains.
It is time Ottawa took out the guesswork and raised the bar for companies operating abroad. For more than a decade, World Vision Canada has been advocating for legislation that will ensure corporate Canada and the government protect the rights of children by publicly reporting on what—if anything—they are doing to address this serious problem.
Fortunately, Canada is moments away from taking an important first step. Bill S-211, the Fighting Against Child Labour and Forced Labour in Supply Chains Act, is one vote away from becoming law and could be passed as early as March. It would require both companies and federal departments and agencies to be transparent about the human rights risks in their supply chains and what efforts they are undertaking to avoid them.
On the international stage, Canada is feeling immense pressure to take action. France, Germany, and Norway all have due-diligence laws that ensure companies prevent human rights abuses. Our second largest trading partner, the European Union, is expected to implement the strongest legislation on supply chain ethics and sustainability later this year. This will have significant impacts on how Canada and the world accesses the European market.
Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan has been tasked by the prime minister with confronting human rights abuses in supply chains. Bill S-211 can serve as a meaningful first step that will ultimately create momentum for more legislation and actions in the coming months. This is very encouraging, and we urge the federal government to unveil its additional plan of action on how to meet Europe’s new standards.
Canadians don’t want to be inadvertently contributing to the child labour crisis every time they shop. As child labour and risky imports continue to rise, supply chain laws are imperative to Canada’s efforts to protect and promote the rights of boys and girls around the world. With supply chain laws in place, consumers, companies, and the federal government will be able to work together to ensure every purchase in Canada is an ethical one.
Ottawa needs to make progress and pass Bill S-211 as an urgent first step, so the world’s most vulnerable children can step out of child labour.
Michael Messenger is president and CEO of World Vision Canada.