{"id":558703,"date":"2026-03-25T01:45:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T01:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/558703\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T01:45:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T01:45:08","slug":"un-committee-criticizes-canada-for-not-filling-corporate-human-rights-abuses-watchdog-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/558703\/","title":{"rendered":"UN committee criticizes Canada for not filling corporate human rights abuses watchdog role"},"content":{"rendered":"

The United Nations<\/a> Committee on Human Rights<\/a>, which includes representatives from the United States, France and Spain, have criticized Ottawa for failing to fill the post of a watchdog whose job was to investigate human rights abuses by Canadian companies operating abroad.<\/p>\n

In a report that covered five countries, including Canada, the UN committee of 18 experts examined the role of the Canadian Ombudsman for Responsible Enterprise.<\/p>\n

Known as CORE, it was established in 2019 by the former Justin Trudeau government to investigate allegations of human rights abuses and environmental harms by Canadian companies operating overseas in the mining, petroleum and garment sectors. <\/p>\n

The Carney government has left the top ombudsman position vacant for 10 months. The job had been previously been handled by an interim ombudsman since May, 2024, who departed in May, 2025.<\/p>\n

The government has said it\u2019s reviewing whether CORE should be maintained.<\/p>\n

Future of once-heralded corporate watchdog remains under review, Ottawa says<\/a><\/p>\n

The UN expert panel said Monday it is troubling that the Canadian government has left the position vacant for close to a year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Committee recommended that Canada urgently appoint a new Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise and ensure the office\u2019s independence and adequate resources,\u201d the panel said in its report. <\/p>\n

The panel called on Canada to \u201cstrengthen mechanisms to ensure that business enterprises under its jurisdiction respect human rights standards, including when operating abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n

The panel also includes human rights experts from Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Morocco and Egypt. Other countries examined by the panel were Andorra, Chad, the Republic of Moldova, and Slovakia. <\/p>\n

The UN experts said Canada had set a laudable path in when it set up CORE because it underscored \u201cits concern about allegations of human rights abuses and environmental harm\u201d linked to companies domiciled in Canada or operating under its jurisdiction, particularly in the mining sector and their overseas operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt also highlighted that victims, especially those outside Canada, continue to face obstacles to effective remedies,\u201d the panel said.<\/p>\n

Canadians face \u2018tsunami\u2019 of transnational repression in coming years, cyber-research group says<\/a><\/p>\n

Robert Oliphant, parliamentary secretary to the foreign affairs minister, said CORE is an important position, which falls under International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu and helps ensure Canadian mining companies conduct themselves properly abroad.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe still have the best mining companies in the world operating out of Canada,\u201d Mr. Oliphant said. \u201cBy and large, if you\u2019re an African country or a South Asian country, you want a mining company from Canada, partly because we have in place safety mechanisms and CORE is part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

NDP MP Jenny Kwan said the empty leadership chair at CORE suggests Canada believes economic concerns are divorced from human rights. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen those positions are vacant and they\u2019re not filled, the Carney administration is sending a clear message to the international community that Canada no longer cares about those values, that Canada is no longer concerned about ensuring ethical practices are in place to ensure that companies respect basic human rights and international law,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The first ombudsman of CORE, Sheri Meyerhoffer, and former Liberal MP John McKay, who spearheaded legislation to combat forced labour, told The Globe they are worried the government is going to let the watchdog wither and disappear.<\/p>\n

Aidan Gilchrist-Blackwood, co-ordinator for the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability, said his group has been pushing since last May for Ottawa to fill the ombudsman post. The non-profit group represents about 40 groups or more than three million Canadians advocating for human rights and the environment. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been deeply concerning that it\u2019s been 10 months and nothing has happened,\u201d he said, adding it appears Prime Minister Mark Carney is backsliding on human rights in pursuit of trade.<\/p>\n

The Trudeau government first announced a six-month review of the office in 2024, but any results of that process were not released publicly. Global Affairs Canada told The Globe and Mail in 2025 that CORE remained under review, and on Monday a spokesperson said that was still the case.<\/p>\n

The government has also declined to say whether recent federal budget cuts have resulted in layoffs or job transfers for public services who are responsible for forced labour laws at Global Affairs and Economic Social Development Canada.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The United Nations Committee on Human Rights, which includes representatives from the United States, France and Spain, have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":558704,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,44,714],"class_list":["post-558703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-news","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=558703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558703\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/558704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=558703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=558703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=558703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}