The Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) was introduced under former prime minister Justin Trudeau in 2019 to investigate potential abuses, including the use of forced labour.

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The CORE had been criticized for lacking the powers to fulfil its mandate. Advocates have said the office needed the ability to compel documents and testimony from companies, for example.

On Thursday, Carney defended eliminating the office by pointing out that only one of the watchdog’s investigations had led to recommendations being made to a company.

The documents tabled in the House of Commons on Wednesday say that, overall, the CORE had only launched five investigations.

  • Scotty
    2·
    3 days ago

    Ahead of a trip to China in March, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne was asked about potential concerns that Chinese EVs could be made using forced labour. Champagne pointed to the CORE as an example of Canada taking the issue of forced labour seriously.