The next reporting deadline under Canada’s Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act—commonly known as the Modern Slavery Act— is May 31, 2025. These rules aim to reduce forced and child labour risks in Canada and imposes reporting requirements on businesses, government institutions, and importers that meet certain operational and financial thresholds.
Public Safety Canada reported that, in the first reporting cycle in 2024, many organizations have taken action to identify and address risks of forced and child labour—but there’s room for improvement. There are still many businesses that fall within the scope of the rules but may not have taken action to comply with reporting requirements.
In this video, we address four of the most common misconceptions we’ve heard about the Modern Slavery Act:
- Modern slavery doesn’t happen in my workplace, in Canada, or in my industry.
- My business isn’t at risk of modern slavery because my suppliers are Canadian or US businesses.
- I haven’t heard of how these rules are being enforced, so my business doesn’t need to comply right away.
- I’m not a Canadian business, so I don’t have to report.
We can help
Our experienced advisors can support you in meeting your reporting obligations under the rules. We work to understand your business, identify potential risks within your supply chain, and help develop solutions so that you can remain compliant and demonstrate leadership in corporate social responsibility. We can help you:
- Determine whether your business has reporting obligations.
- Train and advise your boards and employees on the Modern Slavery Act.
- Complete the mandatory questionnaire and develop a public report if your business is in scope.
- Evaluate your current business practices and identify compliance gaps to determine how you can further reduce risk of forced or child labour.
- Map your supply chain, identify vendors, and survey their practices.
- Introduce an anonymous whistleblower hotline within your organization for employees and suppliers.
