The Canadian government announced the formal elimination of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) on June 11, ending an office tasked with investigating human rights abuses by Canadian companies operating internationally. Prime Minister Mark Carney cited the office’s lack of effectiveness as the primary justification for the closure, noting that the agency failed to achieve its intended oversight goals during its five-year tenure.
Operational Challenges and Investigative Limits
The CORE, which began operations in 2019, was designed to address allegations of misconduct in the mining, oil and gas, and garment sectors. Despite this mandate, the office faced sustained criticism regarding its structural limitations. According to government records, the agency lacked the legal authority to compel companies to produce documents or force witnesses to provide testimony. This inability to mandate cooperation left the ombudsperson reliant on the voluntary participation of firms, which often proved insufficient for complex, cross-border investigations.
The office had also been without a permanent ombudsperson for more than a year at the time of the closure. This leadership vacancy resulted in a significant administrative backlog. Internal reports indicate that at least 36 formal complaints remained unresolved, including allegations involving forced labor in the Uyghur region of China and human rights violations linked to oil and gas exploration projects in Namibia. These files will now remain unaddressed by the office, as the government has provided no transition plan for pending investigations.
Legislative Shift Toward Import Controls
The government’s decision to shutter the CORE coincides with a broader shift in its approach to corporate accountability. On June 12, one day after the office’s dissolution, the government introduced new legislation aimed at strengthening Canada’s existing prohibitions on the importation of goods produced through forced labor.
This legislative pivot reflects a preference for trade-based enforcement mechanisms over the ombudsperson model. While the CORE focused on investigating the conduct of Canadian companies at their foreign sites, the new measures prioritize the restriction of goods at the border. Civil society groups and labor unions, which had previously lobbied for the expansion of the CORE’s powers, have expressed concern that this focus on import restrictions fails to address the underlying corporate practices that facilitate human rights abuses at the source.
Ongoing Regulatory Gap
The closure of the CORE leaves Canada without a dedicated investigative body for international corporate human rights complaints. While the government maintains that the new import-focused legislation will enhance oversight, the move does not include a requirement for companies to conduct mandatory human rights due diligence across their entire global supply chains.
The status of the 36 pending complaints remains uncertain. No further information has been released regarding whether these cases will be transferred to another government department or if the complaints will be dismissed entirely. The government has not announced any additional oversight mechanisms to replace the investigative functions previously held by the ombudsperson.
