Reporting obligations under the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act

* Name of government institution

Military Police Complaints Commission of Canada

* Financial reporting year

April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024

Indicate if this is a report produced by a federal Crown corporation or a subsidiary of a federal Crown corporation.

The Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC) is not a federal Crown corporation or a subsidiary of a federal Crown corporations. The MPCC which is located in Ottawa, is an administrative tribunal created by the Parliament to provide independent, civilian oversight of the Canadian Forces Military Police.

* Which of the following accurately describes the government institution’s activities?

• Purchasing goods
  • in Canada;
  • outside Canada.

The MPCC does not produce nor distribute goods in Canada or outside of Canada.

* Provide additional information on the government institution’s structure, activities and supply chains.

The MPCC is an independent civilian oversight agency and administrative tribunal operating at arm’s length from the Government of Canada. The MPCC reviews and investigates complaints concerning military police conduct and investigates allegations of interference in military police investigations. It reports its findings and makes recommendations to the military police and national defence leadership. As a micro-organisation of 30 employees, it is part of the Defence portfolio for reporting purposes.

Mission

To promote and ensure the highest standards of conduct by the military police, to deter interference in military police investigations and to enhance public confidence in military policing.

Vision

To be an authority on independent civilian oversight of the police by providing an impartial, accessible and efficient complaints process.

Mandate

The MPCC’s mandate is set out in Part IV of the National Defence Act, which provides the following powers:

• monitoring investigations by the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal of military police conduct complaints;
• reviewing disposition of conduct complaints about military police members, at the request of complainants;
• investigating complaints of interference made by military police members;
• conducting public interest investigations and hearings;
• reporting findings and making recommendations directly to the military police and national defence leadership.

Activities and Supply Chains

As a micro-organization of 30 employees, the MPCC neither produces nor distributes goods. The MPCC does not rely on supply chains.

Our main purchases are of professional services, along with various office supplies and equipment.

At the MPCC, in 2023-2024, approximately 23% of the annual value of our purchases were made through the use of Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) tools such as Standing Offers and Supply Arrangements (SOSA).

Since November 2021, PSPC implemented anti-forced labour clauses in all good contracts to ensure that it can terminate contracts where there is credible information that the goods have been produced in whole or in part by forced labour or human trafficking. Additionally, since November 20, 2023, all PSPC Standing Offers and Supply Arrangements for goods that have been issued, amended, or refreshed include anti-forced labour clauses.

As such, all of our contracts for goods resulting from the use of these tools include clauses relating to forced labour which set out, among other things, human rights and labour rights requirements. These clauses can be found in the policy notification 150 – Anti-forced labour requirements.

In 2023-2024, the MPCC purchased approximately 77% of other goods and services externally from SOSA. These purchases are our professional services with contractors for our file investigations. All other contracts refer to the general condition standard contract clause inventory (SCCI).

In addition to the requirement to go through the SOSA for mandatory commodities, it is important to mention that computer equipment related to Production and Operations environment is mandated by Shared Services Canada (SSC), so proposals are often requested from SSC’s supplier list for that commodity.

* Indicate steps taken in the previous financial year to prevent and reduce the risk that forced labour or child labour is used at any step of the production of goods produced, purchased or distributed by the government institution. If applicable, please provide additional information describing the steps taken.

Given the fact that the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act came into force on January 1, 2024, and that the MPCC is a micro-organisation, it has yet to implement measures to report on within the previous financial year. However, the MPCC’s procurement is extremely low risk for forced labour and child labour due to the nature of our procurement. The MPCC is enforcing the socio-economic benefits including green, social, indigenous, local and accessible procurement, which significantly decreases the risk of child and forced labour.

Furthermore, the MPCC has integrated PSPC’s updated General Conditions for good contracts and PSPC’s Code of Conduct for Procurement in our purchasing activities.

In addition, to prevent and reduce the risk of forced labour or child labour in our procurement projects, the MPCC has used the following list of PSPC’s tools:

• Standing Offers
• Supply Arrangements

While PSPC supports government institutions in their daily operations by acting as the central purchasing agent for the Government of Canada, the MPCC undertakes activities under its own procurement authority, independently of the aforementioned PSPC tools.

During the previous fiscal year, we purchased goods and services under our own procurement authority in the following areas:

• Investigator services;
• Legal services;
• Training and memberships;
• Office Equipment and Licenses;
• Office supplies and other minor items.

The MPCC is engaged in ensuring that forced labour and child labour are not present in our practices.

* Does the government institution currently have policies and due diligence processes in place related to forced labour and/or child labour?

Given the fact that the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act came into force on January 1,  2024, and that the MPCC is a micro-organisation, it does not have specific policies or processes related to forced labour and child labour in addition to those prescribe by the federal government.

However, effective April 1, 2023, amendments to the Treasury Board Directive on the Management of Procurement require contracting authorities from all departments listed in Schedules I, I.1 and II of the Financial Administration Act (the MPCC is part of the Schedule I.1) and commissions established in accordance with the Inquiries Act and designated as a department for the purposes of the Financial Administration Act to incorporate the Code of Conduct for Procurement (“the Code”) into their procurement.

Pursuant to the aforementioned amendments, the MPCC has integrated the Code into our procurement, with a view to safeguarding federal procurement supply chains from forced labour and child labour. Contracts that our organization has awarded included the Code through the General Conditions for goods.

The Code requires that vendors, providing goods and services to the Government of Canada and their subcontractors, comply with all applicable laws and regulations. In addition, the Code requires vendors and their subcontractors to comply with Canada’s prohibition on the importation of goods produced, in whole or in part, by forced or compulsory labour. This includes forced or compulsory child labour and applies to all goods, regardless of their country of origin.

The prohibition on the importation of goods produced wholly or in part by forced labour came into force under the Customs Tariff on July 1, 2020. This amendment implemented a commitment in the Labour Chapter of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) and applies to all imports, regardless of origin.

The MPCC is engaged in ensuring that forced labour and child labour are not present in our practices.

* Has the government institution identified the parts of its activities and supply chains that carry a risk of forced labour or child labour being used?

Given the fact that the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act came into force on January 1, 2024, and that the MPCC is a micro-organisation, it has not started the process of identifying risks under this framework. The MPCC will leverage the expertise of the large-size departments and collaborate with the network of Small Departments and Agencies in order to implement best practices.

However, in May 2021, a risk analysis of PSPC’s supply chains was completed by Rights Lab, of the University of Nottingham (U.K.), to determine which goods were at the highest risk of exposure to human trafficking, forced labour, and child labour. The analysis, and subsequent report, elaborated key strategies for PSPC to leverage public spending power to raise awareness about forced labour in supply chains.

The MPCC is familiar with information on the risk assessment provided by PSPC, and is monitoring related follow action, including the development of a Policy on Ethical Procurement.

PSPC has identified the ten (10) Goods and Services Identification Number (GSIN) codes as having the highest risk of exposure to human trafficking, forced labour, and child labour in their risk analysis. The only purchases at the MPCC that fall within this list are related to office supplies and equipment. Within the fiscal year 2023-2024, the MPCC has revamped its procedures and emphasized the need to follow the government procurement tools, such as SO’s and SA’s.

* Has the government institution identified forced labour or child labour risks in its activities and supply chains related to any of the following sectors and industries?

Given the fact that the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act came into force on January 1, 2024, and that the MPCC is a micro-organisation, the MPCC has yet to identify any forced labour or child labour risks in its activities.

* Has the government institution taken any measures to remediate any forced labour or child labour in its activities and supply chains?

Not applicable since the MPCC has not identified any forced labour or child labour in our activities and supply chains.

* Has the government institution taken any measures to remediate the loss of income to the most vulnerable families that results from any measure taken to eliminate the use of forced or child labour in its activities and supply chains?

Not applicable since the MPCC has not identified any loss of income to vulnerable families resulting from measures taken to eliminate the use of forced labour or child labour in our activities and supply chains.

* Does the government institution currently provide training to employees on forced labour and/or child labour?

The MPCC has not yet provided specific training on forced labour or child labour. However, functional specialists in Material Management and in Procurement are required to take mandatory training described in the Treasury Board Mandatory Training Inventory as listed below:

• Procurement Fundamentals (COR401)
• The Procurement Process (COR402)
• Overview of Materiel Management (COR418)
• Overview of Real Property Management (COR411)
• Indigenous Considerations in Procurement (COR409)

The MPCC is aware that PSPC is developing awareness-raising guidance materials (including risk mitigation strategies) for suppliers, targeted towards high-risk sectors. We are monitoring the development of these materials and will leverage these resources upon their publication.

The MPCC will monitor any new training offered by the other institutions, such as PSPC, Canada School of Public Services, SSC, or others, and evaluate the content in light of its internal activities and provide the training to its employees as appropriate.

* Does the government institution currently have policies and procedures in place to assess its effectiveness in ensuring that forced labour and child labour are not being used in its activities and supply chains?

Given the fact that the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act came into force on January 1, 2024, and that the MPCC is a micro-organisation, the MPCC does not currently have policies and procedures in place to assess the effectiveness of ensuring that forced labour and child labour are not being used in its activities.

However, the MPCC is engaged in ensuring that forced labour and child labour are not present in our activities and, will examine how the Act affects our micro-organisation in concert with other similar governmental organisations.