(Ottawa) What do Ralph Lauren Canada, Nike Canada, Dynasty Gold Corp., Walmart Canada and now Levi Strauss have in common?
The Canadian Ombudsman for Corporate Responsibility (CORE) announced Wednesday that the cotton supply chains of the Levi Strauss company
The clothing maker known for its denim jeans and jackets joins a growing list of companies facing such suspicions – this is the seventh investigation launched by ombudsman Sherry Meyerhoffer .
“The allegations made by the plaintiffs raise serious questions about a possible infringement of an internationally recognized human right, namely the right to be free from forced labor,” she wrote in its initial assessment report.
“It seems that an investigation is necessary in the circumstances,” concludes Sherry Meyerhoffer. In several places in the report, she notes the company’s lack of collaboration in examining the complaint.
Because even if it denies the allegations, it has not “provided details as to the nature and scope of its obligation of due diligence”, in particular on “the possible use of fiber traceability technology “, she reproaches.
Cutting ties with Chinese suppliers who violate human rights is not so simple, explains Professor Ari Van Assche, specialist in the Chinese economy at HEC Montréal. “It’s not easy at all,” he says.
“We’re talking about companies that employ a supplier, that employ a supplier, that employ a supplier. Often, forced labor activities are hidden; “it’s therefore difficult to know if the cotton comes from this or that supplier,” he explains in an interview.
And OCRE, created in 2019, does not have powers to discipline companies that turn a blind eye, intentionally or not, to these practices – the federal agency can turn off the spigot of federal aid, but it cannot impose fines.
We are far from the strong measures that have been put in place in the United States. There, under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, border agents can block goods from Xinjiang made from forced labor.
“It is up to companies to demonstrate that there is no forced labor. In other words, they are guilty until they prove their innocence,” summarizes Professor Van Assche.
The company argues that there are “factual inaccuracies” in the report released Wednesday by the OCRE, but it signals that it will “continue to cooperate” with the federal agency.
The Chinese regime has repeatedly denied the existence of forced labor camps in Xinjiang. “Huge lie,” “political manipulation,” “attempt to denigrate China’s prosperity,” raged a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Ottawa last May.
Don’t go to Xinjiang who wants; so the investigation promises to be difficult, we concede to the OCRE. The ombudsman will therefore seek “the help of investigators specialized in research and analysis of publicly accessible data,” the report states.
“We welcome the initiative of the ombudsman, who has increased his investigations in recent weeks, after years of silence,” comments Bloc MP Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay. That said, without “more teeth”, the OCRE will not be able to “completely complete its investigations”, he adds.
The Conservative Party and the New Democratic Party did not provide a reaction to the opening of this investigation, nor did the office of the Minister of International Trade, Mary Ng.