Mandatory humane production standards
Petitioners ask the federal government to require any company selling goods in Canada to meet humane overseas production standards, disclose production practices to consumers, and close legal outsourcing loopholes.
Why we would sign this petition
- It would require that products sold in Canada are produced under humane standards, reducing the risk of exploitation in overseas supply chains.
- Mandatory disclosure of production practices would let consumers make informed, ethical purchasing decisions.
- Closing legal loopholes would make companies accountable in Canada for overseas labour conditions, removing a regulatory gap.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Enforcing foreign production standards is likely to be difficult and costly, raising doubts about effective implementation.
- New requirements could increase compliance costs for businesses, which may be passed on to consumers as higher prices.
- Applying Canadian standards abroad may create trade frictions or face legal limits on extraterritorial regulation.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the Government of Canada Many companies selling products to Canadians in Canada manufacture their products in other countries with extremely inhumane standards for their employees at cheaper costs; There are currently no laws preventing companies profiting in Canada by treating their overseas employees as modern slaves, such as being paid extremely little and forced to work over 16 hours a day in abhorrent, unhealthy, and unsafe environments; Companies continue to profit by using other countries as loopholes to Canadian manufacturing employee standards; Negligence of the Canadian Government to not monitor the abusive work practices of companies manufacturing overseas ignores Canadian ethical values; and Canadians also currently have no transparency or choice to shop ethically since there is currently zero accountability or laws against companies doing this practice. We, the undersigned, Citizens of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to:1) Close legal loopholes that allow companies to outsource “cheaper” labour abroad and then proceed to sell in Canadian markets; 2) Create new laws requiring any company selling in Canada to employ humane (Canadian/universally acceptable) standards for the production of any goods later sold to Canadians; and 3) Require companies selling their products in Canada to disclose their production practices to consumers before they purchase any products to allow Canadians to make informed decisions about what they are purchasing and how it is produced. 1) Close legal loopholes that allow companies to outsource “cheaper” labour abroad and then proceed to sell in Canadian markets; 2) Create new laws requiring any company selling in Canada to employ humane (Canadian/universally acceptable) standards for the production of any goods later sold to Canadians; and 3) Require companies selling their products in Canada to disclose their production practices to consumers before they purchase any products to allow Canadians to make informed decisions about what they are purchasing and how it is produced.
Government response
No government response is available yet.