politics
Canada Eliminates Corporate Human Rights Ombudsperson Position
Prime Minister Mark Carney said the Canadian government ended the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise months ago after it completed only one investigation since 2019.
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Prime Minister Mark Carney stated last week that the Canadian government had eliminated the position of Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise months ago. The office reviewed complaints about possible human rights abuses by Canadian companies operating abroad in the garment, mining, and oil and gas sectors.
The Trudeau government established the CORE office in 2018 after a decade of advocacy, particularly in the mining sector.
The office was launched in 2019. Sheri Meyerhoffer was the only person to lead the CORE office. Meyerhoffer issued multiple reports stating that many major companies were not complying with requests to provide substantial information.
Carney stated that the CORE office had fully completed only one investigation since 2019. MiningWatch Canada stated it is aware of more than 20 cases that were in limbo when the government eliminated the CORE office. One case involved an Indigenous rights defender in Asia who submitted a complaint against a Canadian mining company in 2023, which the CORE accepted for investigation.
The 2013 Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh killed 1,130 people and injured 2,520 others. Some victims were manufacturing clothing for Loblaws apparel brand Joe Fresh. The case helped build support for the CORE office.
Global Affairs Canada stated that the CORE duplicated the role of offices with stronger track records of effectiveness, such as the OECD contact point. Spokesperson John Babcock said the role of the ombudsperson has remained vacant given concerns about whether the initiative was fit to deliver results. The CORE office’s website does not state that it is defunct.
Activists say Ottawa gave them no indication the CORE would be closing. An email sent Thursday to the CORE’s email address did not prompt an autoreply indicating it has closed. Last week, following an American tariff threat, the Canadian government tabled a bill to change the way Canada bars imports of products made with forced labour.
