OTTAWA — Canadian firms are finding reasons to be concerned after a private member’s bill forced them to go looking for forced labour in their supply chains and release the results publicly.

In Spring 2023, Liberal MP John McKay’s private member’s bill, the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act, passed through the House of Commons. The bill requires companies over a certain size to report publicly on where they believe there is a risk of forced labour in their supply chains and what they are doing about it.