Preparing for Canada’s “Modern Slavery Act”: reporting deadline May 31

By Colleen Keyes, K.C., Christine Pound, ICD.D, and Harper Metler

The 2024 reports under the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act (the “Act”) are due by May 31, 2025. In preparation for this deadline, reporting entities and government institutions should allow sufficient time to prepare and finalize their reports and to have their reports properly approved and attested prior to submitting.

In light of the updated guidance published by Public Safety Canada in 2024 (see a summary of the updates here), we encourage entities to review the Act’s reporting thresholds in order to confirm whether they are required to submit a report for the 2024 financial year. Even if an entity was required to file a report in 2023, the updated guidance made certain material changes to the reporting thresholds that may impact an entity’s obligation to report. As a reminder, the reporting requirements are as follows:

For entities

An entity is any corporation, trust, partnership or other unincorporated organization that:

• Is listed on a stock exchange in Canada; or
• Has a place of business in Canada, does business in Canada or has assets in Canada and that, based on its consolidated financial statements, meets at least two of the following three criteria for at least one of its two most recent financial years:
  • Has at least $20 million or more in assets,
  • Has generated at least $40 million or more in revenue, and
  • Employs an average of at least 250 employees.

Entities are required to report if they:

• Produce goods in Canada or elsewhere;
• Import goods produced outside Canada; or
• Control another entity that produces or imports goods.

For government institutions

A government institution is defined as:

• Any department or ministry of state of the Government of Canada, or any body or office, listed in Schedule I of the Access to Information Act; and
• Any parent Crown corporation, and any wholly-owned subsidiary of such a corporation, within the meaning of section 83 of the Financial Administration Act.

Government institutions are required to report if they produce, purchase or distribute goods in Canada or elsewhere.

As with reports covering the 2023 financial year, the 2024 reports must be submitted in PDF format alongside the online questionnaire. For general information and background about the Act and the reporting process, we invite you to explore our previously published Thought Leadership, though we note that some of the requirements and obligations referenced may no longer apply:

• Less than two weeks to go … Canada Supply Chain Transparency Reports are due May 31st
• Updated guidance on business reporting obligations under Canada’s supply chain transparency legislation
• Preparing for Canada’s “Modern Slavery Act”: considerations and guidance for businesses

If you have any questions about your reporting obligations under the Act, please contact a member of our team. We would be pleased to provide assistance as you begin to finalize your 2024 reports in advance of the May 31, 2025 deadline.

This client update is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. If you have any questions about the above, please contact a member of our Corporate Governance Group.

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