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63 Colum. J. Transnat'l L.: Bulletin 1 (2025)

handle is hein.journals/cjtbll63 and id is 1 raw text is: 









     The   True   North-Strong but Not Free:
  How Canada's Modern Slavery Act Fails to
  Mitigate Forced and Child Labor in Supply
                          Chains


      In May  2023, Canada  passed its highly anticipated
      Modern  Slavery Act. The law is designed to tackle the
      increasingly complex problem of illegal forced labor
      and  child labor in international supply chains by
      requiring Canadian companies  to publish reports on
      the risks of modern slavery in their supply chains and
      what they are doing to prevent it. Neither the first of its
      kind nor the most progressive, the law is preceded by
      other reporting legislation (i.e., in the United Kingdom
      and Australia) and more radical due-diligence schemes
      (i.e., in France, Germany, and recently in the European
      Union).  Laws creating reporting requirements are, in
      general, less likely to result in any actual reduction of
      forced  and child labor; the Canadian  Act  is no
      exception. However,  certain provisions, including a
      fine on companies which do not report, suggest new
      consequences.  This Note seeks to accomplish three
      things: first, to evaluate the potential effectiveness of
      the Act to eradicate forced and child labor in supply
      chains;  second, to compare  its provisions to its
      contemporary  laws  in different jurisdictions; and,
      third, to identify both a realistic proposal and an ideal
      proposal to fill the gaps the Modern Slavery Act leaves
      open.

IN TR O D U CTIO N   .............................................................................. .   2
I.   LEGAL  BACKGROUND   ................................................................4
       A . A d H oc  Legal O ptions ................................................. .  5
       B. Reporting and Due-Diligence Laws ............................. 8
II.   CANADA'S MODERN   SLAVERY ACT  ..................................... 12
       A . L egislative  H istory  .................................................... .  13
       B . C ontents  .................................................................... .   16
       C . Potential Effectiveness.............................................. .  18

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