Canadian Forced Labor Complaint Against Canadian Clothier Closed
The Canada Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) terminated its review of human rights complaints against Canadian Tire and Mark’s Work Wearhouse, the agency announced on Dec. 23. The agency found that determining a "right to a living wage" was beyond its jurisdictional boundary and therefore "closed the complaint without any recommendation for follow-up by the company."
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CORE began investigating Mark's Work Wearhouse and its parent company Canadian Tire after a complaint was filed in November 2022 alleging that the company, "use[s] supplier factories in Bangladesh that pay workers less than a living wage." Labor advocates United Steelworkers and the Canadian Labour Congress filed the complaint arguing that, "the right to a living wage is protected under the international human rights instruments that form the basis of the CORE’s mandate."
CORE noted the possibility that the requests by the complainants might exceed its jurisdiction in the initial report (published simultaneously with the final report) but decided to launch an investigation.
In its final report, CORE found that, "the content and operationalization of the obligation to provide a living wage remain unsettled in international law," and it was therefore beyond the scope of CORE's authority to "set new standards in responsible business conduct."
CORE recommended that the government of Canada, "actively participate in discussions in international forums such as those ongoing at the ILO with respect to defining and operationalizing the concept of living wage."
The complainants responded that "excessive delay" in the agency's processes impacted their ability to advocate for workers and that "CORE’s approach reflected in the final report would undermine [its] mandate to such a degree that it would render the office ineffective."