Canadian watchdog organization SeaChoice has issued a report condemning nearly all major Canadian retailers for failing to address human rights abuses in their supply chains.
“Voluntary efforts from retailers are far from enough, and regulations in North America remain largely inadequate to address the issues of illegal product and forced labour [in the seafood chain],” SeaChoice Representative Christina Callegari said.
The allegations emerged from SeaChoice’s new “Seafood Progress Report,” which assigns grades to retailers by assessing the company’s seafood policies and procurement processes against 22 key performance indicators derived from the Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions’ Common Vision for Sustainable Seafood. The companies assessed included Metro, Loblaw Companies Limited, Sobeys, Costco, Walmart Canada, and Pattison Food Group.
Only Metro received a passing grade of C. All the other companies failed the assessment.
The grades reflected what SeaChoice called the retailers’ ...
