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Members of Parliament unanimously back bill to outlaw modern slavery

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OTTAWA — Members of Parliament unanimously voted Wednesday to clamp down on modern slavery by backing a bill requiring Canadian companies to ensure they are not using forced labour or exploiting child workers overseas.

Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan ensured government backing for the private member’s bill that would make Canadian firms and government departments scrutinize supply chains with the aim of protecting workers.

O’Regan said the Liberals want the bill, introduced by a senator, to go to committee where it may be strengthened further with government amendments.

In a vote in the House of Commons at the bill’s second reading, it was backed unanimously by MPs, including the Conservatives, Bloc Québécois, NDP and Greens.

Most private member’s bills — introduced by individuals rather than the government — do not receive ministerial backing, parliamentary time or proceed through all the parliamentary stages needed to become law.

O’Regan said the vote was an “important first step” in tackling “forced labour in our supply chains.”

“We voted to send this bill to committee. There we’ll look at amendments to strengthen it,” he said.

The bill, tabled in the Senate by Sen. Julie Miville-Dechene, would make Canadian firms check that none of their products or components are made in sweatshops employing children or adults forced to work excessive hours for free or for paltry pay.

The senator has warned that a number of products sold in Canada, including coffee, cocoa and sugarcane, may be linked to child or forced labour. She has also warned about imports of products made in factories in the Xinjiang region of China where members of the Uyghur community have been forced to work.

The senator’s bill is one of a number of private bills cracking down on forced labour in supply chains that politicians have attempted to get backing for in the past four years.

They include a bill tabled by Liberal MP John McKay, who has long argued for action to make companies ensure their products are not produced overseas by forced labour or children.

Liberal MP Marcus Powlowski recently tabled the same bill as McKay’s and the NDP have tabled two similar bills.

The senator’s bill, known as Bill S-211 in Parliament, will now move to the foreign affairs committee for scrutiny, a further parliamentary stage before becoming law.

A report by the House of Commons international human rights subcommittee said that in 2016 some 4.3 million children were involved in forced labour, a figure the International Labour Organization warned was an underestimate.

The report warned that child labour most often occurs at the lowest tiers of the supply chain out of the sight of buyers, inspectors and consumers. In South and Southeast Asia, children have been found making clothes, fishing and processing seafood.

The report found child labour interferes with young people’s educations and can involve work in hazardous conditions, including with toxic substances or at extreme temperatures.

It can also include confinement at work sites and indentured labour, where whole families are forced to work to repay debts.

Rocio Domingo Ramos, business and human rights policy and research officer at Anti-Slavery International, has warned that Canada is lagging behind countries such as France, Germany and Norway which have already introduced laws requiring firms to check their supply chains to make sure their products are not made using forced labour.

In 2020, the Canadian government prohibited importation of goods produced by forced labour under the customs tariff.

Miville-Dechene has warned that at least 90 million children and adults around the world could be involved in forced labour, including to produce cheap products for wealthy countries such as Canada.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2022.

 

Marie Woolf, The Canadian Press

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End of Manitoba legislature session includes replacement-worker ban, machete rules

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WINNIPEG – Manitoba politicians are expected to pass several bills into law before the likely end of legislature session this evening.

The NDP government, with a solid majority of seats, is getting its omnibus budget bill through.

It enacts tax changes outlined in the spring budget, but also includes unrelated items, such as a ban on replacement workers during labour disputes.

The bill would also make it easier for workers to unionize, and would boost rebates for political campaign expenses.

Another bill expected to pass this evening would place new restrictions on the sale of machetes, in an attempt to crack down on crime.

Among the bills that are not expected to pass this session is one making it harder for landlords to raise rents above the inflation rate.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024

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Father charged with second-degree murder in infant’s death: police

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A Richmond Hill, Ont., man has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of his seven-week-old infant earlier this year.

York Regional Police say they were contacted by the York Children’s Aid Society about a child who had been taken to a hospital in Toronto on Jan. 15.

They say the baby had “significant injuries” that could not be explained by the parents.

The infant died three days later.

Police say the baby’s father, 30, was charged with second-degree murder on Oct. 23.

Anyone with more information on the case is urged to contact investigators.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

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Ontario fast-tracking several bills with little or no debate

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TORONTO – Ontario is pushing through several bills with little or no debate, which the government house leader says is due to a short legislative sitting.

The government has significantly reduced debate and committee time on the proposed law that would force municipalities to seek permission to install bike lanes when they would remove a car lane.

It also passed the fall economic statement that contains legislation to send out $200 cheques to taxpayers with reduced debating time.

The province tabled a bill Wednesday afternoon that would extend the per-vote subsidy program, which funnels money to political parties, until 2027.

That bill passed third reading Thursday morning with no debate and is awaiting royal assent.

Government House Leader Steve Clark did not answer a question about whether the province is speeding up passage of the bills in order to have an election in the spring, which Premier Doug Ford has not ruled out.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

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