Providing Technical Expertise to the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise on Child Labour Risks in the Garment Sector

The Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) contracted The Centre for Child Rights and Business (The Centre) as its technical expert to design and implement its study, "A Study into Human Rights Due Diligence and Child Rights in the Operations Abroad of Canadian Garment Companies." The study explores the risks of child and forced labour in the supply chain of Canadian garment companies.

Bill S-211, introduced in the Canadian Senate in November 2021, proposes the enactment of the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act, which would amend the Customs Tariff. The bill would require certain government and private sector entities to submit annual reports on their measures to prevent and reduce the risk of child and forced labour in the production of goods made domestically, abroad, or imported.

The Centre has extensive experience dealing with child rights issues in the Ready-Made Garment (RMG) sector. As a technical expert, we have provided expert review, analysis, and advice in the study's design and implementation, including key terms, principles, terminology, and interview questions. We have also assisted in garment supply chain mapping and implementation of child rights impact assessments, qualitative analysis of the data collected through interviews and other relevant information.

In addition, we participated in CORE's panel during the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) forums in 2022 and 2023.

If you're interested, you can read the final report of the study by clicking on this link: https://core-ombuds.canada.ca/core_ombuds-ocre_ombuds/assets/pdfs/rights_child_labour-droits_enfant_travail-eng-1.pdf