Canada’s ombudsperson for corporate misconduct abroad steps down



Canada’s ombudsperson for corporate misconduct abroad steps down

On April 30, 2024 the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development, appointed an interim Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) to take over from Sheri Meyerhoffer, upon the completion of her five-year term.

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Mr. Masud Husain has been named interim CORE (for 12 months beginning May 21, 2024). Mr. Husain served in Canada’s foreign service for 30 years in several key posts. 

 

His term will coincide with a previously announced mandate review for the CORE.  That review was referenced in a previous news article. It is also unclear whether there is any clarity in terms of how this entity, with whatever changes might be made to its mandate, has a role where the government has over the last five years:

  • Instituted a ban on the importation of products made in whole or in part with forced labour (2020)
  • Instituted goods made with prohibited forms of child labour (2024)
  • Overhauled procurement policies to take account of the risk of forced and child labour in products purchased by the Canadian government (2023-24)
  • Instituted a new tariff provision (GPT+) which links duties paid by certain developing countries to commitments made on social and environmental issues (2023)
  • Adopted the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act (formerly Bill S-211) to demand that certain companies report annually on their efforts to prevent forced labour and child labour in their supply chains.

Finally, the department of environment and social development. Canada is currently planning new legislation modelled on the corporate sustainability due diligence law recently passed in Europe.

 

Quick facts

  • Canada established the CORE in 2019. 
  • The CORE is mandated to review complaints about possible human rights abuses by Canadian companies operating abroad in the garment, mining, and oil and gas sectors. 
  • The CORE is guided by internationally respected norms, such as the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct. 

Background

 



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