OTTAWA: Canada’s corporate ethics watchdog on Tuesday (Jul 11) launched separate investigations into Nike Canada and mining company Dynasty Gold to probe allegations that they used or benefited from forced Uyghur labour in their supply chains and operations in China.
The investigations were launched after an initial assessment of complaints about the overseas operations of 13 Canadian companies filed by a coalition of 28 civil society organisations in June 2022.
A report by the UN human rights chief said last year that China’s treatment of Uyghurs, a mainly Muslim ethnic minority that numbers around 10 million in Xinjiang, in the country’s far west, may constitute crimes against humanity. Beijing has repeatedly denied the use of forced labour against Uyghurs.
This is the first such investigation launched by the Canadian agency since it launched its complaint mechanism in 2021. No other Canadian agencies in the past have launched investigations of this kind.
Complaints against the other 11 companies were still being assessed, with reports expected in the coming weeks, according to a statement from the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE).
Nike Canada and Dynasty Gold are alleged to have or have had supply chains or operations in China identified as using or benefiting from the use of Uyghur forced labour, the Ombudsperson said in the statement.
Dynasty Gold said in an emailed response that the allegations are “totally unfounded”.
Nike Canada did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
“I have not pre-judged the outcome of the investigations. We will await the results and we will publish final reports with my recommendations,” Ombudsperson Sheri Meyerhoffer said in the statement, adding that the watchdog is “very concerned” about how these companies have chosen to respond to these allegations.