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When: Thursday, June 18, 12pm 

Where: Room 135-B, West Block, 111 Wellington Street, Ottawa, Ontario

Speakers include: 

• Heather McPherson, MP, Edmonton-Strathcona 
• Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, MP, Saint-Hyacinthe–Bagot–Acton
• Siobhán Vipond, Executive Vice-President, Canadian Labour Congress 
• David Matsinhe, Director of Policy, Advocacy, and Research, Amnesty International Canada (anglophone section) 
• Diana Martin, Co-manager, MiningWatch Canada
• Kiegan Irish, Advocacy Officer, Development and Peace – Caritas Canada
• Aidan Gilchrist-Blackwood, Network Coordinator, Canadian Network for Corporate Accountability (CNCA)

For media inquiries please contact: 

Aidan Gilchrist-Blackwood
Network Coordinator, Canadian Network for Corporate Accountability
agilchristblackwood@cnca-rcrce.ca
1-438-872-0401

*Participation in the question and answer portion of this event is in person or via Zoom, and is for accredited members of the Press Gallery only. Media who are not members of the Press Gallery may contact pressres2@parl.gc.ca for temporary access.

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During a press conference, Prime Minister Carney justified the government’s decision by pointing to criticism of the CORE’s ineffectiveness, a concern raised by Canadian civil society groups since the earliest days of the office. Yet the solution has always been to reinforce the office, not eliminate it. 

When the CORE was first created, the government announced it would have much-needed independent investigatory powers, as human rights groups and tens of thousands of individual Canadians across the country advocated for. These commitments were abandoned soon after, and the office was later left to languish for over two years without a permanent leader. It appears the CORE was always set up to fail. 

We are also shocked to learn that the government made this decision “months ago”. To our knowledge, this decision was never communicated to the scores of communities and workers who assumed great personal risk to trust the CORE with allegations of human rights abuse linked to Canadian companies, sometimes at the direct encouragement of Canadian government officials. The government’s failure to notify directly-impacted people represents a callous disregard for human life and basic transparency, and is a betrayal of the government’s stated commitment to “Canadian values”. We condemn this in the strongest possible terms. 

In comments to the media, the Prime Minister suggested the functions of the CORE will be replaced by new legislation on forced labour, tabled today following threats of new tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump. We look forward to reviewing the legislation in detail but we note, with deep concern, that this legislation in no way does so. The CORE was mandated to investigate all human rights abuses and provide pathways to remedy, while the forthcoming legislation appears to have neither function. Failure to ensure accountability for all human rights abuses contravenes Canada’s international human rights obligations. 

Notes to editors: 

• In late March 2026, multiple cabinet ministers publicly indicated the CORE was part of Canada’s approach to meeting its international human rights obligations. Foreign Affairs Minister Minister Anand told the Globe and Mail that the office is “important” and indicated the government is looking to fill the position, while Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne cited the CORE as evidence of Canada’s commitment to fighting forced labour.
• Various UN human rights bodies welcomed the creation of the CORE and called for its strengthening. In March 2026, the UN Human Rights Committee “underscored its concern about allegations of human rights abuses and environmental harm linked to companies domiciled in Canada or operating under its jurisdiction” while urging the Canadian government to empower the CORE.

For media inquiries please contact: 

Aidan Gilchrist-Blackwood, Network Coordinator, Canadian Network for Corporate Accountability 
agilchristblackwood@cnca-rcrce.ca
1-438-872-0401

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See here to learn more about the legislation we are calling for. 

• Where: Parliament Hill Lawn
• When: Friday, September 26, 2025, 12-1pm

For more information please contact: 

Aidan Gilchrist-Blackwood, Network Coordinator, Canadian Network for Corporate Accountability 
agilchristblackwood@cnca-rcrce.ca
438-872-0401

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The 2024 Fall Economic Statement announces the government’s intent to introduce legislation to create a new supply chain due diligence regime, requiring government entities and businesses to scrutinize their international supply chains for risks to fundamental labour rights and take action to resolve these risks. A new oversight agency will be created to ensure ongoing compliance.

The CNCA sees potential in these measures and will review the new legislation in its entirety, once tabled. We nonetheless hold firm that the scope of the legislation should cover all human rights and not be limited to labour rights only.

Aidan Gilchrist-Blackwood of the CNCA reacted:

Our network recognises the important work of grassroots activists and trade union leaders to end labour abuses. This law could make a big difference in the lives of many people. However, human rights are indivisible and interrelated. It is impossible to effectively prevent many labour violations without also protecting other human rights. The CNCA will continue to advocate for a comprehensive law aimed at preventing all human rights abuse throughout the global operations and supply chains of Canadian companies.

ENDS

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In a letter to Minister of International Trade Mary Ng, the CNCA is urging the government to:

• Ensure talks move towards formal negotiations on a legally binding treaty in 2025;
• Commit to passing mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence legislation that holds Canadian corporations accountable for their impacts abroad; and
• Provide the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) with the necessary powers to provide meaningful remedies and prevent human rights abuses.

Taking place from December 16-20 in Geneva, this year marks the 10-year anniversary of the creation of the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) on a legally binding instrument on business and human rights. To date, talks have proceeded slowly and not secured adequate support from countries like Canada in the Global North. 

Progress toward a new treaty would go a significant way towards delivering Minister Ng’s mandate to ensure that Canadian businesses operating abroad do not contribute to human rights abuses. Canada has a particular responsibility to support these talks, given the significant number of extractive industries headquartered in this country and extensive global supply chains associated with social and environmental impacts overseas. 

Shane Moffatt, Director of the CNCA said:

“Through their activities, many large corporations are harming communities and causing environmental destruction around the world. In large part this is due to a lack of accountability for corporations based in Canada and the Global North. Instead of being part of the problem, the government has an opportunity to be part of the solution by supporting a global treaty and taking immediate action to prevent further harms by Canadian companies overseas.”

According to Beatrice Olivastri, CEO Friends of the Earth Canada:

“Canada has been missing in action for the first ten years of talks on this important Treaty while relying instead on voluntary principles for Canadian business activities affecting human and environmental rights overseas. Now that the EU is bringing in its due diligence legislation, Canada needs to engage in the Treaty and bring in our own mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence legislation to put a halt to human and environmental damage by Canadian companies around the world.

ENDS

Notes to editors

• The CNCA’s letter to Minister Ng is available here;
• The CNCA’s submission to the 5-year review of the CORE in October is available here.
• The CNCA has drafted model mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence legislation that would require companies to prevent all forms of human rights abuse in their operations and ensure impacted people have access to justice in Canadian courts;
• Over 50,000 Canadians have called on the federal government to pass such legislation.

The post Media release: Talks on a business and human rights treaty need Canada’s support appeared first on CNCA - RCRCE.

For over a decade, the Canadian Network for Corporate Accountability (CNCA) has advocated for an independent Ombudsperson with real powers to investigate the abuses and harms caused by Canadian companies operating abroad. Drawing on this experience, we have provided our recommendations in a 2-page briefing available here.

Canadian companies operating abroad or importing goods into Canada are associated with widespread and egregious human rights abuses, including forced labour, serious environmental damage and killings. This is contributing to a global ecological and social crisis.

Nonetheless, the CORE lacks essential powers to investigate complaints and compel witness testimony. As a result, it is unable to take meaningful action and impacted communities risk wasting their time if they file a complaint. In our submission, we call on the government to ensure the CORE is able to investigate all complaints transparently and in a timely fashion.

According to CNCA director Shane Moffatt:

“The CORE has a vital role to play in holding Canadian corporations accountable for their actions overseas. Trade Minister Mary Ng needs to ensure it has the power to fully investigate complaints. People harmed by Canadian companies deserve an Ombudsperson who can get to the bottom of human rights abuses and prevent further harms.”

“As one of the authors of the multi-stakeholder CSR Roundtable Report (2007), MiningWatch Canada joined with mining industry representatives in calling on the Government of Canada to establish an Ombudsperson. The need for this office is as great as ever, but it must finally be granted the investigatory powers the government initially committed to and be provided independence from the government.” – Catherine Coumans, Research Coordinator, MiningWatch Canada

“The CORE must have real investigative powers to address the harms caused by corporations operating abroad. Without such accountability, women—who already face systemic discrimination and violence—will continue to suffer disproportionately from exploitative practices like land grabs, forced labor, and environmental damage. Empowering CORE is essential for safeguarding human rights and advancing women’s economic and social well-being globally.” – Jean Symes, Deputy Executive Director, Inter Pares

ENDS

Note to editors: 

The CNCA’s submission to Global Affairs Canada is available here.

For more information, please contact:

Shane Moffatt, Director, Canadian Network for Corporate Accountability 

smoffatt@cnca-rcrce.ca

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This will be the topic of discussion at an upcoming symposium on Parliament hill, co-organised by the Canadian Network for Corporate Accountability and Above Ground. Attendees will include international experts, parliamentarians, civil society, business representatives and members of the media.

Taking place during the government’s review of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise, the symposium offers a full day of panel talks and discussions in an interactive format, with opportunities for attendees to meet and speak informally between sessions.

The event is co-sponsored by Members of Parliament Sameer Zuberi (Liberal Party), Heather McPherson (New Democratic Party), Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay (Bloc Québecois) and Mike Morrice (Green Party).

International and Canadian experts in business human rights will be available to speak with the media. Simultaneous French translation will be provided.

• Where: John A. Macdonald building, Parliament hill, Ottawa.

• When: October 29th, 9am-5pm.

• Who: Members of the media are invited to attend

• How: This is event is free to register at http://bhrsymposium2024.eventbrite.ca/ 

For more information contact:

Shane Moffatt, Director, CNCA. Phone: 416.432.7145. Email: smoffatt@cnca-rcrce.ca 

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In a statement today, Mr. Obokata said that mandatory human rights due diligence laws are the way forward and that Canada should give Canada’s Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) powers to compel companies to provide evidence and cooperate.

These recommendations reinforce demands that the Canadian Network for Corporate Accountability (CNCA) has been making for years.

“We thank Special Rapporteur Obokata for his visit to Canada and for meeting with Canadian civil society groups and trade unions,” said CNCA’s Policy Director, Emily Dwyer.

Weakness of Canada’s current approach

This year, Canada adopted the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act (formerly Bill S-211), which requires firms to publish an annual report on any steps they’ve taken “to prevent and reduce the risk” of forced labour, but does not require companies to actually examine their supply chains or stop using forced labour. The CNCA has called this legislation “meaningless and potentially damaging”.

Referring to the new Act, the Special Rapporteur’s statement said, “There is a risk of this becoming a box ticking exercise where companies simply submit the same statement every year, as has been reported in other jurisdictions. Self-reporting and the lack of a monitoring mechanism mean that companies could conceal or omit relevant information to protect their reputation and profits. In addition, Bill S-211 does not require Canadian businesses to implement human rights due diligence, nor implement measures to prevent, address, and remedy abuses once identified.”

“UNSR Obokata’s comments demonstrate that Canada can’t continue to rely on voluntary measures to fulfill its international human rights obligations with respect to corporate abuse,” said Dwyer.

Due diligence legislation is “the way forward”

The Special Rapporteur noted “that the imposition of mandatory human rights due diligence, with a sufficient penalty regime for non-compliance, is the way forward,” and urged the Canadian Government to consider this “seriously and expeditiously.”

“Canada should pass a law requiring companies to prevent human rights abuses, including forced labour,” said Dwyer. “Such a law should include civil liability and ensure people harmed by Canadian business activity outside of Canada have access to remedy through Canadian courts.”

The CNCA advocates for a robust mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence law, such as the Corporate Responsibility to Protect Human Rights Act (Bill C-262), based on the CNCA’s own model legislation.

The CORE should be empowered

Mr. Obokata’s statement noted concerns about the effectiveness of the CORE, pointing out that “the first initial assessment reports of complaints brought before the Ombud were not issued until nearly 4 years after the mechanism’s creation.”

Mr. Obokata recommended that Canada’s Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) be given “the statutory powers to compel witnesses and documents [and] ensure that companies cooperate, with clear consequences for non-compliance.”

The CNCA calls on the Government of Canada to immediately fulfill its 2018 promise to give the CORE the powers needed to independently investigate allegations of human rights abuse. The government could empower the CORE immediately through an Order in Council as a stop gap measure before passing a law like Bill C-263.

Familiar calls from UN

Mr. Obokata’s comments echo repeated calls from the United Nations for Canada to facilitate access to justice and remedy for people who have been harmed by Canadian companies operating around the world.

Related:

• Submission to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, Canadian Network for Corporate Accountability & Above Ground, 31 May 2023.
• Canada: Anchor the fight against contemporary forms of slavery in human rights, a UN expert urges, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 06 September 2023.
• End of Canada Mission Statement for the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, Tomoya Obokata, including its causes and consequences, 6 September 2023. (PDF)

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OTTAWA – Canada’s new law on forced and child labour in supply chains is bound to fail because it only requires companies to publish reports, and it risks making the problem worse by providing the appearance of real action, according to the Canadian Network for Corporate Accountability (CNCA).

In today’s vote on Bill S-211, 271 MPs voted to pass the law, and 57 voted against it, with the vote largely split along party lines – Liberal and Conservative MPs in favour, New Democrat and Bloc Québécois MPs opposed, and the two Green MPs each voting differently.

The Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act requires companies to report on what steps, if any, they have taken to prevent and reduce the risk of forced or child labour in their supply chains, but the law requires no action if companies are made aware of forced labour or child labour, and offers no assistance to victims.

“Canadian companies can continue to profit from forced labour and child labour, even when taking zero steps to stop it, or patently inadequate steps,” said the CNCA’s Policy Director, Emily Dwyer. “We’re talking about serious human rights violations including the exploitation of children, and a serious matter deserves a serious law.”

“The law doesn’t actually require companies to do anything to combat forced or child labour,” said Farida Deif, Canada Director at Human Rights Watch. “The law’s toothless reporting obligation should be replaced by meaningful requirements to protect workers and provide remedies to victims.”

“As a labour rights activist and former child worker, I’ve witnessed first-hand how Canadian companies are linked to serious violations of workers’ human rights. Canada’s new forced and child labour reporting law will be no help whatsoever to the people I work with,” said Kalpona Akter, Executive Director of the Bangladesh Centre for Worker Solidarity. “We are calling on the Canadian government to finally respond to these issues with the seriousness they deserve by passing a law on mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence.”

“This new forced labour legislation does not meet the Minister’s mandate letter commitment to eradicate forced labour from Canadian supply chains and ensure that Canadian businesses operating abroad do not contribute to human rights abuses. Canada’s unions share the call for Canada to pass legislation that addresses these serious issues with the diligence they deserve,” said Beatrice Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress.

Furthermore, the law does nothing to assist responsible Canadian corporations and consumers. “This meaningless reporting law won’t help people in Canada avoid products made with forced or child labour and won’t help level the playing field for Canadian companies that do take action against human rights abuse,” said Ketty Nivyabandi, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada (English-speaking section).

Before it passed, the serious flaws of Bill S-211 were detailed for Parliamentary and Senate committees, such as its failure to make companies liable for harm, provide access to remedy for victims via Canadian courts, or integrate other principles of the mandatory due diligence laws seen in other OECD countries.

Related coverage:

• MPs pass law meant to curb forced labour, as critics decry its lack of teeth, Canadian Press via CTV News, 3 May 2023

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