The Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act (Act) came into force on January 1, 2024.
Throughout the 2024 fiscal year, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has taken the steps identified in this report to prevent and reduce the risk that forced labour or child labour is present in our supply chains.
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 activities of the department range 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 8 different branches. AAFC has Research and Development Centres in all 10 provinces as well as regional offices.
AAFC's 3 core responsibilities, Domestic and International Markets; Science and Innovation; and Sector Risk, represent the enduring functions of the department's mandate. AAFC is also involved in the growing of crops within Canada (including manufacturing, extracting, growing and processing), purchasing goods in and outside Canada as well as distributing goods in Canada.
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 2023-24, AAFC purchased promotional materials (in Canada) for use at international tradeshows and the opening of the Indo-Pacific Agriculture and Agri-Food Office (IPAAO) in the Philippines. 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, including electronics (for example, laptops) and business cards.
AAFC has integrated Public Services and Procurement Canada's (PSPC) updated General Conditions for goods contracts and PSPC's Code of Conduct for Procurement in our purchasing activities. In order to prevent and reduce the risk of forced labour or child labour in our procurements, AAFC also used the following list of PSPC's tools:
- Standing offers
- Supply arrangements
- Anti-forced labour contract clauses
While PSPC supports government institutions in their daily operations by acting as the central purchasing agent for the Government of Canada, AAFC undertakes activities under its own procurement authority, independently of PSPC.
In fiscal year 2023-24, the Corporate Management Branch (CMB) within AAFC deployed the use of a new Procurement File Checklist; a tool to help gather the necessary level of information throughout a procurement requirement's process. This checklist supports the Act as it helps to ensure a supplier is verified against the Government-wide Integrity Regime process, managed by PSPC. This process notifies federal departments if suppliers have been identified as being ineligible to conduct business with the Government of Canada, including forced and/or child labour convictions.
At AAFC, approximately 28% of the annual value of our goods purchases were made through the use of PSPC tools such as Standing Offers and Supply Arrangements. This percentage does not include transactions via departmental acquisition cards.
Since November 2021, PSPC implemented anti-forced labour clauses in all goods contracts to ensure that it can terminate contracts where there is credible information that the goods have been produced in whole or in part by forced labour or human trafficking. Additionally, since November 20, 2023, all PSPC Standing Offers and Supply Arrangements for goods that have been issued, amended, or refreshed include anti-forced labour clauses.
As such, all of our contracts for goods resulting from the use of these tools include clauses relating to forced labour which set out, among other things, human rights and labour rights requirements. These clauses can be found in the policy notification 150 – Anti-forced labour requirements.
Policies and due diligence process
Effective April 1, 2023, amendments to the Treasury Board Directive on the Management of Procurement require 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.
Our department has integrated the Code into our procurement processes, with a view to safeguarding federal procurement supply chains from forced labour and child labour. Contracts that our organization has awarded included the Code through the General Conditions for goods.
The Code requires that vendors, providing goods and services to the Government of Canada and their sub-contractors, 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 (CUSMA) and applies to all imports, regardless of origin.
Furthermore, AAFC's due diligence include a new Procurement File Checklist which is linked to 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 Material Management is the lead for AAFC.
Risk identification and actions
In May 2021, a risk analysis of PSPC's supply chains was completed by Rights Lab, of the University of Nottingham (U.K.), to determine which goods were at the highest risk of exposure to human trafficking, forced labour, and child labour. The analysis, and subsequent report, elaborated key strategies for PSPC to leverage public spending power to raise awareness about forced labour in supply chains.
We have familiarized ourselves with information on the risk assessment provided by PSPC, and are monitoring related follow-up action, including the development of a Policy on Ethical Procurement via PSPC.
Measures to remediate any forced labour or child labour
AAFC has not identified any forced labour or child labour in our 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 is aware that PSPC is currently developing awareness-raising guidance materials (including risk mitigation strategies) for suppliers, targeted towards high-risk sectors. We are monitoring the development of these materials and will leverage these resources upon their publication.
Assessing effectiveness
AAFC does not have policies and procedures in place to assess its effectiveness in ensuring that forced labour and child labour are not being used in its activities and supply chains.
The department conducts a yearly assessment of its procurement practices, procedures and processes to ensure their alignment with procurement activities of the Government of Canada.
Attestation
In accordance with the requirements of the Act, I attest that I have reviewed the information contained in the report for the entity or entities listed above. Based on my knowledge, and having exercised reasonable diligence, I attest that the information in the report is true, accurate and complete in all material respects for the purposes of the Act, for the reporting year listed above.
Original signed by:
Stefanie Beck
Deputy Minister, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Annex: Key definitions
Definitions from Section 2 of the Act.
- Child labour
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Child labour means 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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Forced labour means 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
- Production of goods includes the manufacturing, growing, extracting and processing of goods.