Page 38 - CCCA Magazine Winter 2017

{ CCCa News }

updAtes on modern slAverY And

tHe impACt on Your Business

on november 1, the CCCa ontario Chapter and Gowling WLG
cohosted an eye-opening talk by Gowling partner stephen Pike
on the business impact of labour abuses and modern slavery
in supply chains.

e spoke about the current situation modern slavery in their supply chains.
and what you, as Canadian corpo- However, consumers, NGOs, investors
Hrate counsel, can do to appropriately and shareholders are starting to demand
address and manage these legal, business, transparency. In fact, some of the biggest
operational and reputational risks. pension plans in Canada are now asking
As background, modern slavery and the companies in their portfolios to take
labour abuses disproportionately impact a stand on the issue while industry asso-
the world’s most vulnerable people— ciations are striving to eradicate forced
people who don’t work in safe places, who labour from their value chains by imple-
don’t have the same access to the food and menting codes of conduct. In addition,
healthcare as we do, whose life expectan- consumers are more concerned than ever
cies are up to 20 years lower than ours. about the ethical and social implications
It’s in these areas of the world that many of their purchases—according to the MSL
parts of the global supply chain exist. It en- Group, 83% of millennials believe busi-
compasses forced labour, human traffck- ness should be involved in societal issues.
ing, debt bondage, and illegal and harmful Inaction also invites risk. From cus-
child labour. tomer defections and brand erosion, to
The International Labour Organiza- labour disputes and supply chain instabil-
tion estimates that approximately 215 ity, to class actions and exposure to regu-
million children are working as child latory risk, the dangers to your organiza-
labourers around the world and forced tion are very real. However, organizations
labour generates about US$150 billion that take steps to address corporate social
in annual profts. In the Americas alone, responsibility (CSR) are not immune.
there are over 2 million enslaved people. Take Joe Fresh for example: after the fac-
The facts are hard to stomach, and tory collapse in Bangladesh, the judge,
as business leaders become increasingly in dismissing the class action lawsuit in
aware of the likelihood of forced labour Ontario, said that CSR standards do not
happening within their supply chains, in- protect an organization from liability, and
action is no longer an option. it may even have been better for Joe Fresh
Compounding the problem is the fact had the company not developed and pub-
that Canada is falling behind other coun- lished its CSR standards at all. 1
tries in its efforts to end its participa- As in-house counsel, you need to be
tion in the problem. We don’t currently mindful of what’s included in your orga-
require disclosure from businesses on nization’s CSR statements. Pike’s advice

1 Das v. George Weston Limited, 2017 onsC 4129

38 CCCa MaGazine | WinTer 2017 hiVer