Public Safety Canada Releases Updated Guidance On Modern Slavery Reporting Obligations

• Published date: 05 April 2024
• Subject Matter: Employment and HR, Employee Rights/ Labour Relations
• Law Firm: Goodmans LLP
• Author: Ms Kari MacKay and Darren Gill

The Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act (the "Act") came into force on January 1, 2024, implementing enhanced reporting requirements for certain entities to combat forced labour and child labour. See our earlier update on the Act and its reporting obligations, Modern Slavery Reporting Obligations for Canadian Entities Effective January 1, 2024.

The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (the "Minister") published updated guidance on March 7, 2024 (the "Updated Guidance") to revise its original guidance released on December 20, 2023 (the "Original Guidance" and, collectively, the "Guidance").

Background

The stated purpose of the Act is to implement Canada's international commitment to contribute to the fight against forced labour and child labour by imposing reporting obligations on any entity that produces, sells or distributes goods in Canada or elsewhere, any entity that imports into Canada goods produced outside Canada, and any entity that controls (directly or indirectly) another entity engaged in such producing, selling, distributing or importing.

The Act defines an "entity" as a corporation, trust, partnership or other unincorporated organization that:

• is listed on a Canadian stock exchange;
• has a place of business in Canada, does business in Canada or has assets in Canada and meets at least two of the following conditions for at least one of its two most recent financial years (based on its consolidated financial statements):
• • the entity has at least $20 million in assets,
  • the entity has generated at least $40 million in revenue and
  • the entity employs at least 250 employees.

The Act contains separate reporting requirements for government institutions.

Entities subject to the Act must prepare annual reports that are published prominently on their website and filed with the Minister no later than May 31 of each calendar year (commencing in 2024). A group of related corporate entities with separate reporting obligations may file a single joint annual report on behalf of all related entities. Any reporting entity that is incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations Act or any other federal legislation must provide such entity's annual report to each shareholder along with the entity's annual financial statements.

The Initial Guidance constituted the first substantive guidance released by the Minister in respect of the reporting obligations under the Act, which was then supplemented and...