Canada eliminates human rights watchdog that oversees companies operating abroad

Canada is eliminating a watchdog that investigates alleged human rights violations by Canadian companies operating abroad after Mark Carney said the office hadn’t been "effective" since it was set up in 2019. The Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (Core) was created by Justin Trudeau’s government to probe abuses including forced labour, with much early attention on accusations that Uyghur minorities in China were forced into work — allegations Beijing denies.

Over six years Core launched only five investigations: three into US clothing firms — Ralph Lauren, Nike and Levi Strauss — and two into mining companies, GobiMin and Dynasty Gold Corp. It used mediation in the Hugo Boss case and has issued formal recommendations against only two companies.

As part of austerity measures, Carney said the Liberals would review federal offices and cut roles where resources are inefficiently used.

Canada

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