Many Canadian companies and their subsidiaries have been linked to allegations of ongoing and widespread human rights abuses abroad, including killings, torture, forced labour, arbitrary detention and intimidation. Canada has a legal and ethical duty to uphold respect for human rights everywhere. Canadian corporations need to be held accountable. Voluntary measures don’t work. To prevent abuses, Canada needs strong laws and regulations.
The CNCA has published case studies showing how mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence legislation can help rein in abuse by Canadian-based multinationals.
Case Studies
Wage theft and unpaid severance
Garment workers were suddenly left unemployed when a knitwear factory in Cambodia closed without warning. Workers were never paid their legally owed wages, severance, and other legal entitlements. According to import records and worker testimonies, the factory produced clothing for a Canadian company. Learn more…
Freedom of association and threats of violence, death
When workers at a Canadian-owned gold mine in Mexico carried out a work stoppage to demand their right to be represented by an independent union of their own choosing, a series of violent events ensued. Four individuals were killed. Workers were deterred from continuing to protest due to the fear of violent reprisals. Learn more…
Forced labour in Canada’s PPE supply chains
Canadian companies imported personal protective equipment (PPE) from rubber glove manufacturers associated with allegations of forced labour practices, while U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was barring imports of those goods into the United States. Learn more…
Violent deaths, criminalization and land grabbing
A Canadian company had a subsidiary in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that produced palm oil. A series of abuses have been reported over the lifespan of that subsidiary, including during the Canadian company’s ownership, including killings, intimidation, arbitrary arrest and wage theft. Learn more…
Human rights abuses
A Canadian company has been criticized by human rights groups for failing to appropriately acknowledge, investigate or address abuses by mine security and police guarding a mine in Papua New Guinea, despite repeated reports of killings and beatings of men and boys, rapes and gang rapes of women and girls, and house burnings. Learn more…
Environmental contamination and human rights abuses
A Canadian gold and silver mine in Guatemala allegedly caused 10 water springs to disappear, 500 families’ homes to sustain cracks in infrastructure, and skin impacts in children from contaminated water. The largely Indigenous Mayan population was left to deal with long-term environmental impacts. Learn more…
