"Modern slavery: Canada moves closer to supply chain legislation," April 2019

More draft legislation is set to be tabled in Parliament imposing obligations on Canadian companies’ supply chains. On April 4, the All-Party Parliamentary Group to End Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking announced the completion of the draft Transparency In Supply Chains Act (TSCA or Bill), which is set to be tabled shortly in the Senate... The proposed TSCA provides for four mechanisms to combat modern slavery: (1) a reporting requirement for qualifying entities; (2) a duty of care for all businesses that meet an annual turnover threshold; (3) the creation of an Ombudsperson and Compliance Committee; and (4) mechanisms to receive and investigate disclosures of modern slavery from whistleblowers... The Bill will create an Ombudsperson and Compliance Committee. In doing so, the TSCA envisions that the mandate of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise, which was announced in early 2018, could be expanded to capture the ombudsperson responsibilities as contemplated in the TSCA... Whatever legislation moves forward, Canadian companies should be alive to the potential impact on their businesses, especially if their operations or supply chains encompass developing countries.