44th Parliament223Government response tabledJanuary 29, 2024e-4456e-4456 (Business and trade)ShantaSundarasonPaulChiangMarkham—UnionvilleLiberalONJune 1, 2023, at 9:55 a.m. (EDT)July 1, 2023, at 9:55 a.m. (EDT)November 9, 2023January 29, 2024July 5, 2023Petition to the <Addressee type="1" affiliationId="" mp-riding-display="1">House of Commons</Addressee>Whereas:Shein clothing company recently opened a warehouse and office in Markham, Ontario, Canada and is an internationally known contributor to human rights abuses, forced labour and environmental damage around the world; andConcerns about chemicals used by Shein which are harmful to the purchasers and contribute to the pollution of our environment. This has been documented by health Canada.We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons to: 1. Require additional transparency from clothing and retail companies surrounding the supply chain process, specifically related to the harvesting, sourcing, and production of cotton;2. Require additional transparency from clothing and retail companies related to worker pay and working conditions;3. Require retail companies to minimize waste by disclosing how many returns they receive and how those returns are handled;4. Require clothing and retail companies do their due diligence, including by carefully assessing how they may be contributing to human rights abuse or environmental damage abroad and by providing access to remedy when harms occur;5. Result in meaningful consequences for companies that fail to carry out and report on adequate due diligence; and6. Remove a violator from the City of Markham (Shein) within 30 days should they not conform.
Response by the Minister of Labour and SeniorsSigned by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): Terry SheehanThe Government of Canada is committed to upholding human rights, as well as labour and environmental standards. The Minister of Labour and Seniors, with the support of the Ministers of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs, Public Services and Procurement, and Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development, remains committed to introducing legislation to eradicate forced labour from Canadian supply chains.On May 3, 2023, the House of Commons passed Senate Public Bill S-211, An Act to enact the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act. The bill received royal assent on May 11, 2023. The Act imposes an obligation on government institutions and certain private-sector entities to report publicly on the measures taken to prevent and reduce the risk that forced labour or child labour is used by them or in their supply chains. Public Safety Canada is responsible for the implementation of this Act. The Act also amends the Customs Tariff to allow for a prohibition on the importation of goods manufactured or produced, in whole or in part, by forced labour or child labour as those terms are defined in the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act. The government recognizes that while the Act may serve as an important first step, more is needed. This is reflected in Budget 2023, where the government announced its intention to introduce a Bill in 2024 to eradicate forced labour from Canadian supply chains. The Bill will include due diligence measures and be strong, effective, and enforceable.Supply chain legislation is just one tool, among many, needed to address forced labour and other forms of exploitation. The government also has in place a variety of other initiatives to prevent and address exploitation in global supply chains and to promote responsible business conduct abroad. For example, Canada has adhered to a number of conventions aimed at protecting human rights and works to negotiate into Canada’s free trade agreements enforceable provisions to address forced labour. Trade measures or financial penalties can be imposed on free trade partners that do not live up to these obligations.In addition, the government introduced the prohibition on the importation of goods produced in whole or in part by forced labour, which came into force under the Customs Tariff on July 1, 2020. This implemented an obligation in the Labour Chapter of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) and applies to all goods regardless of country of origin. In the 2023 federal budget, the government also indicated that it would take measures to strengthen the import prohibition.The government has also taken multiple measures across federal departments to address concerns about human rights violations in the People’s Republic of China involving members of  the Uyghur ethnic minority and other minorities within the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang).These include a business advisory to caution Canadian businesses of the risks of supply chain exposure to entities engaging in human rights abuses and a Xinjiang integrity declaration for Trade Commissioner Service clients on doing business with Xinjiang entities.The government will continue to work closely with stakeholders and international partners to improve the overall approach to tackling forced labour in Canadian supply chains.On the question of the petitioners’ request to close a business in operation in the City of Markham, the matter may best be addressed by a different level of government as this is outside the purview of the Minister of Labour and Seniors and the Labour Program.
Response by the Minister of Environment and Climate ChangeSigned by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): The Honourable STEVEN GUILBEAULTBased on Statistics Canada’s Pilot physical flow account for plastic material, it is estimated that nearly 350,000 tons of synthetic textile products (e.g., polyester, nylon, PVC, acrylic) were produced for Canadian consumption in 2019, many of them imported into Canada. Textiles and apparel make up the fourth-largest category of plastic waste sent to landfills in Canada: 329,000 tons in 2019. Coordinated action is required so that textile and apparel items remain in the economy and out of the environment.System changes are happening across the country, and industry is moving forward voluntarily to increase circularity in the sector. For example, the Canadian Circular Textiles Consortium led by Fashion Takes Action, and partially funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), has been established to connect stakeholders on circular textile-related projects.On December 29, 2023, the Government of Canada published a Notice of intent to issue a section 46 notice for the Federal Plastics Registry to create an inventory of data on the Canadian Environmental Protection Act 1999 (CEPA) registry for a 45-day public comment period. The Registry would require annual reports from several sectors on plastic placed on the Canadian market and how it is managed at end-of-life, using a consistent and transparent process. Plastic fibres in the textile sector, such as nylon and polyester, would be part of this obligatory reporting. It would include information on plastics after diversion including such activities as recycling and final disposal in landfill. Data is crucial as the basis for risk management. The Registry would help in monitoring plastic in the economy over time allowing the Government of Canada to measure progress and identify gaps in the plastic value chain where further action could accelerate the transition to a circular economy.The Government of Canada’s goal is to support a circular economy, which aims to extract as much value as possible from resources by repairing, reusing, repurposing, refurbishing, or recycling products and materials. Although ECCC does not have the direct authority to force companies to divert waste, the department is working with stakeholders on initiatives to support a circular economy. For more information on the circular economy please see: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/conservation/sustainability/circular-economy.html
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