2025–2026 fiscal year
The Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act (Act) came into force on January 1, 2024.
Throughout the 2026 fiscal year, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has continued to take any necessary steps to prevent and reduce the risk that forced labour or child labour is present in our supply chain.
Structure, activities and supply chains
AAFC provides leadership in the growth and development of a competitive, innovative and sustainable Canadian agriculture and agri-food sector. The department supports the sector from the farmer to the consumer, from the farm to global markets, through all phases of producing, processing and marketing of farm, food and bio-based products. Agriculture is also a shared jurisdiction in Canada, and the department works closely with provincial and territorial governments in the development and delivery of policies and programs.
AAFC employs approximately 5,000 employees and is organized into eight different branches. AAFC has research and development centres in all 10 provinces as well as regional offices.
AAFC’s three core responsibilities, Domestic and International Markets, Science and Innovation, and Sector Risk, represent the enduring functions of the department’s mandate. Thus, AAFC is involved in the growing of crops within Canada, purchasing goods domestically and internationally (for example, the United States, United Kingdom and Denmark), as well as distributing goods in Canada. The tables below provide a cross comparison of markets associated with the top three departmental goods procurement activities in fiscal year 2025–2026.
Domestic departmental procurement activity data — fiscal year 2025–26
| Material group | Description | Number of contracts | Total value ($ CAD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| N6600 | Instruments and laboratory equipment | 579 | 5,976,036 |
| N6640 | Laboratory equipment and supplies | 769 | 2,388,647 |
| N7025 | ADP input-output and storage devices | 50 | 1,508,533 |
International departmental procurement activity data — fiscal year 2025–26
| Material group | Description | Number of contracts | Total value ($ CAD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| N6600 | Instruments and laboratory equipment | 45 | 651,571 |
| N6640 | Laboratory equipment and supplies | 41 | 95,348 |
| N7025 | ADP input-output and storage devices | 0 | 0 |
Furthermore, AAFC and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) combine their expertise to implement sector trade priorities, as follows:
- regulatory and technical import-export functions (CFIA only)
- market access, advocacy and trade policy (AAFC and CFIA)
- market development and diversification (AAFC only)
- engagement with stakeholders in Canada and abroad (AAFC and CFIA)
In fiscal year 2025–26, International Affairs Branch, one of AAFC’s branches, purchased promotional materials (in Canada) for use at international and domestic trade shows and the Indo-Pacific Agriculture and Agri-Food Office (IPAAO) in the Philippines. These include banners, service cards and brochures. Additionally, funding was provided through the Agriculture and Food Trade Commissioner Service fund for the purchase of eligible job-related supplies (outside of Canada) for the new IPAAO. This included promotional materials and services such as electronics (such as monitors, iPads), banners, shirts, and the delivery of a series of workshops in partnership with the Canada-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Canada-ASEAN Business Council.
Within its procurement process, AAFC utilizes Public Services and Procurement Canada’s (PSPC) General Conditions, the Code of Conduct for Procurement, and the following PSPC tools:
- standing offers
- supply arrangements
- anti-forced labour contract clauses
These tools include provisions that allow Canada to terminate contracts where there is credible evidence that purchased goods produced, in whole or in part, by forced labour or human trafficking.
At AAFC, approximately 24% of the annual value of goods purchases were procured through PSPC tools such as standing offers and supply arrangements. This percentage does not include transactions via departmental acquisition card. While PSPC serves as the central purchasing agent for the Government of Canada (GC), AAFC also conducts procurement activities under its own authority, independently of PSPC.
The Corporate Management Branch leads the department’s functional procurement direction by maintaining and monitoring its procurement processes, procedures and guidance documents, as well as educating its procurement community accordingly. These efforts ensure that AAFC is supporting GC policies such as PSPC’s Ineligibility and Suspension Policy, which includes a verification process that alerts federal departments when a supplier has been deemed ineligible to do business with the GC, following a conviction related to forced or child labour.
Policies and due diligence process
The Treasury Board Directive on the Management of Procurement requires contracting authorities from all departments listed in Schedules I, I.1 and II of the Financial Administration Act (with the exception of the Canada Revenue Agency) and commissions established in accordance with the Inquiries Act and designated as a department for the purposes of the Financial Administration Act to incorporate the Code of Conduct for Procurement (“the Code”) into their procurements.
The Code is integrated into AAFC’s procurement processes to safeguard federal procurement supply chains from forced labour and child labour. Thus, contracts that AAFC awards include the Code through the General Conditions clausing.
The Code requires vendors, and their sub-contractors, contracted by the Government of Canada to comply with all applicable laws and regulations. In addition, the Code requires vendors and their sub-contractors to comply with Canada’s prohibition on the importation of goods produced, in whole or in part, by forced or compulsory labour. This includes forced or compulsory child labour and applies to all goods, regardless of their country of origin.
The prohibition on the importation of goods produced wholly or in part by forced labour came into force under the Customs Tariff on July 1, 2020. This amendment implemented a commitment in the Labour Chapter of the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement and applies to all imports, regardless of origin.
As part of its procurement activities, AAFC requires that the departmental Procurement File Checklist be included in each procurement file to document the validation against the Ineligibility and Suspension Policy through the use of the Integrity Verification Services (IVS) program managed by PSPC. The IVS program notifies federal departments if companies have been identified as having issues including forced and/or child labour convictions. The Director of Procurement and Materiel Management is the lead for AAFC.
Risk identification and actions
PSPC is the GC lead on safeguarding federal procurement supply chains from forced labour, child labour and human trafficking, as well as doing business with ethical suppliers. AAFC actively monitors developments from PSPC on its Ethical Procurement Policy and adopts any related actions as required.
Measures to remediate any forced labour or child labour
AAFC has an established procurement framework, aligned with the overarching frameworks of PSPC and Treasury Board Secretariat, and supported by defined practices, procedures and processes, that advance the GC’s mandate and priorities. This includes a process to address and remediate any cases of forced labour or child labour.
To date, AAFC has not encountered any cases of forced labour or child labour within its activities or supply chains.
Measures to remediate loss of income
AAFC has not identified any loss of income to vulnerable families resulting from measures taken to eliminate the use of forced labour or child labour in our activities and supply chains and therefore has not taken any remediation measures.
Employee training
AAFC actively monitors developments from PSPC and will leverage related guidance, including risk mitigation strategies for high risk sectors, as it becomes available. Employees are kept informed through AAFC’s procurement and materiel management guidance documents, tools, and ongoing community outreach activities.
Assessing effectiveness
AAFC has a process to address forced labour or child labour cases; however, the department has yet to encounter a case to assess the process’ effectiveness.
The department does conduct an annual assessment of its procurement practices, procedures and processes, as well as on an ad hoc basis when deemed necessary, to ensure AAFC remains current and aligned with the Government of Canada’s procurement objectives and expected results.
Key definitions
Definitions are from Section 2 of the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act.
Child labour
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Labour or services provided or offered to be provided by persons under the age of 18 years and that
- are provided or offered to be provided in Canada under circumstances that are contrary to the laws applicable in Canada;
- are provided or offered to be provided under circumstances that are mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous to them;
- interfere with their schooling by depriving them of the opportunity to attend school, obliging them to leave school prematurely or requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work; or
- constitute the worst forms of child labour as defined in article 3 of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999, adopted at Geneva on June 17, 1999.
Forced labour
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Labour or service provided or offered to be provided by a person under circumstances that
- could reasonably be expected to cause the person to believe their safety or the safety of a person known to them would be threatened if they failed to provide or offer to provide the labour or service;
- constitute forced or compulsory labour as defined in article 2 of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, adopted at Geneva on June 28, 1930.
Production of goods
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Includes the manufacturing, growing, extracting and processing of goods