Separate investigations into the allegations of using forced labor from China’s Uyghur minority by the mining company Dynasty Gold and the sporting goods company Nike were begun on Tuesday by corporate ethics watchdogs in Canada.
According to a statement from the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE), Nike Canada and Dynasty Gold, both based in Vancouver, “are alleged to have or have had supply chains or operations in the People’s Republic of China identified as using or benefiting from the use of Uyghur forced labor.”
The investigations were started as a result of complaints made in June of last year against the foreign operations of 13 Canadian corporations by a coalition of 28 civil society organizations.
This is the first instance in which the Canadian agency has opened an investigation since establishing its complaint mechanism in 2021, and no other Canadian agencies have done the same.
The other 11 corporations are the subject of an investigation by CORE, which will likely announce its findings in the upcoming weeks.
“I have not pre-judged the outcome of the investigations,” Ombudsperson Sheri Meyerhoffer said in a statement, adding that the watchdog is “very concerned” about how these companies have chosen to respond to these allegations. We will await the results and we will publish final reports with my recommendations.”
CORE was established in 2017 to investigate human rights violations mainly by Canadian garment, mining and oil and gas companies operating abroad. It does not have legal powers to prosecute the companies if found guilty.
