QUESTION PERIOD — Employment and Social Development
Forced Labour and Child Labour
April 27, 2023
My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.
Senator Gold, as we commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy in Bangladesh this week, the House of Commons wrapped up debate on third reading of Bill S-211 on forced labour and child labour in supply chains. The bill is expected to pass on Wednesday.
In its most recent budget, the government nevertheless announced that it intends to do even more and introduce a bill on forced labour by 2024.
Can you tell us what further provisions the government is considering?
Thank you for the question, and congratulations again on the bill that has passed in the House of Commons. It reflects the importance of the work we do in this place. It is a credit to you and to us. Please allow me to share that honour with you.
That being said, the government’s intentions are not necessarily set in stone yet, so I don’t have anything specific to share with you in terms of the details of the government’s planned legislation. As soon as the discussions turn into proposed legislation, the Senate will be informed.
When Minister O’Regan spoke yesterday in the House of Commons, he spoke to exactly my question. He said that Bill S-211 means that you have to look to the supply chain. But now, when I think government legislation will come on, it’s okay — you look now, he would say to companies, “What are you doing about it?”
It seems that they want to push the law a bit further in asking the companies to get rid of forced labour. Is that what you understand from this upcoming legislation?
Once again, thank you for sharing what has been made public, but you’ll understand that some things are not yet public and I’m not in a position to share them. This shows that the government is serious not only about the principle, but also about making it work on the ground.
I’m confident that once the full details of the bill are released, Canadians will see a more robust system than what’s in place now.
