Seafood has become a source of concern for consumers who pay attention to the environmental and social impacts of what they buy. Climate change is , and a series of  have exposed  and awful working conditions in both fishing and seafood processing.

 often work 18 hours a day in . Many are at sea for months or even years at a time, and most have .  and , despite producing food for high-income consumers.

Similarly, those working in seafood processing are also poorly paid, and  who lack basic labour rights.

In response to these concerns, governments in many seafood importing countries have taken action. The  and  have banned imports of seafood produced by illegal fishing, while the  includes seafood.

The EU is also instituting a  approach that holds corporations accountable for human rights abuses and environmental impacts in their supply chains.

The Canadian government has yet to implement similar policies for seafood sold in Canada and is an outlier in its failure to hold buyers and retailers accountable for labour abuse in seafood supply chains. In the meantime, many Canadian seafood buyers and retailers have turned to private schemes that certify for sustainability, and less commonly for worker rights.

, for example, is prioritizing wild-caught seafood that is sourced from fisheries that are certified by the , as well as organic standards or fisheries making progress toward these or other private standards.

The MSC is the world’s premier sustainability certification for fishing, . What Canadian seafood consumers do not know is that evidence is mounting that even gold standard certifications like MSC fail to address terrible working conditions in seafood supply chains.

Seafood supply chains

To start, we need to recognize seafood supply chain complexity. The freezer sections in Canadian supermarkets are full of frozen seafood labelled “product of China,” while in the canned seafood section, most tuna is labelled as a “product of Thailand.”

In reality, most of this seafood is caught by fisheries around the world and shipped to China, Thailand or other seafood processing hubs, where it is transformed into seafood products and exported — mostly to higher income countries.

China is the world’s , importing, transforming and exporting  and other species, as well as processing raw material caught by Chinese fishing vessels.

 by the non-profit  has revealed the use of , as well as human rights violations and illegal fishing in .

Many of the seafarers who work in this fishery are from Indonesia and the Philippines. They are paid a few hundred dollars a month to work under conditions that would be considered unacceptable on land.

Outlaw Ocean investigators found that many Chinese seafood factories had been audited for labour standards, and that importers were relying on these audits to assure consumers that the seafood was ethical.

But these audits — including the independent audits  â€” failed to detect the use of forced labour found by the Outlaw Ocean Project.

The Outlaw Ocean’s  has identified many  and supermarkets that source from processing plants accused by the Outlaw Ocean of using forced labour.

Poor working conditions worldwide

These findings are not unique to China. Our  project has found that unacceptable working conditions are ubiquitous in transnational seafood supply chains. This includes Thailand’s tuna canning industry, which is the world’s .

Thailand’s seafood processing industry relies on  from Myanmar and Cambodia. Workers are not guaranteed a minimum number of working days per month, meaning they are more likely to work excessive overtime hours and/or fall into debt.

This situation is made worse by  and ,  and the lack of unions. It is  for migrant workers to participate in organizing unions, although they can be members of unions.

The raw materials for Thailand’s canned tuna industry are imported as frozen whole fish from fisheries across the Pacific and Indian Ocean. The vessels are owned and operated from Taiwan and other East Asian countries, and are mostly crewed by workers from the Philippines and Indonesia.

These seafarers have told our research team that work on Taiwanese vessels is preferable to Chinese vessels, partly because their pay, at a minimum of US$550 per month minus agency fees, is better.

But  set out in private certifications schemes, government fishing labour regulations or the , which is meant to ensure fishers have decent working conditions. The reality of this transnational supply chain is not visible on canned tuna labels.

Canada is lagging behind

Canada is falling behind in addressing labour abuse and sustainability in seafood supply chains. Although the  came into effect in January 2024, this law has been  for companies and lacking effectiveness in .

To address these shortcomings, Canada needs human rights and environmental  â€” policy that mandates Canadian companies to substantially address human rights abuses and environmental harm in their supply chains.

It is also critical that Canada go beyond private audits and government inspections to work with international institutions to help create a robust system that monitors and enforces standards for work in global fishing, one that meaningfully involves workers.

Canada has not even ratified the International Labour Organization’s  â€” that would be a good start. For inspection and monitoring, the , working in some 140 ports around the world to monitor working conditions in the shipping sector, is a potential model.

By taking these steps, Canada can play a pivotal role in fostering ethical and sustainable practices in its seafood supply chains, ensuring the well-being of workers and the environment.

Co-written by , professor of Geography, 91ŃÇÉ« University, , PhD candidate in geography, 91ŃÇÉ«, and , professor, School of International Development and Global Studies, L’UniversitĂ© d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa.

This article is republished from .

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TORONTO, March 9, 2023 – Thirty years ago, in his novel Snow Crash, science fiction author Neal Stephenson imagined the future metaverse with humans as programmable avatars – interacting with each other and software agents in a virtual space. While he can now create his own avatar and experience life in the virtual world as he once predicted, he is bound to face some of the issues that come with it.

According to 91ŃÇÉ« experts at Osgoode Hall Law School, as the metaverse grows fast and furious with major companies investing in this cyberspace, legal issues are emerging at the same pace.

“One of the biggest fears is that businesses will collect our biometric data without our permission,” says law Professor , director of Jack & Mae Nathanson Centre on Transnational Human Rights, Crime and Security. “We may think that we are entering the metaverse to play a silly game, but what we may actually end up doing is revealing an intimate portrait of our lives without even knowing it.”

The metaverse also poses several challenges for workers, says artificial intelligence (AI) and labour regulation Professor . “The technology has introduced new problems such as intensified electronic surveillance and reinforcement of some existing biases,” he says. “The metaverse increases risks of cyberbullying, discrimination and to be misclassified as independent contractors – thus losing access to labour and employment protection.”

Choudhury and De Stefano will be presenting at symposium today, Thursday, March 9 at noon. Other topics to be addressed by their colleagues at the symposium include constitutional, criminal, tax and intellectual property law, as those relate to the development of the metaverse.

Choudhury can discuss the following topics:

• Can governments – which have traditionally been the sole protectors of human rights – continue to be so with the emergence of the metaverse? 
• Who should be the ones ultimately responsible for protecting our human rights – corporations or governments?
• How do we get corporations to prioritize the protection of our human rights?
• Why is holding corporations accountable for their unauthorized data collection and other human rights infractions in the metaverse so difficult? 

De Stefano is available to discuss:

• What are the ongoing challenges and opportunities facing workers as the metaverse develops?
• How does algorithmic management and electronic monitoring of employees affect human rights?
• What workplace health and safety issues are caused by widespread electronic monitoring?
• What are the implications of labour regulation and platform/gig work based on the metaverse?

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Mandi Gray and 91ŃÇÉ« have reached a settlement to Ms. Gray's HRTO application. Although the parties were unable to reach an agreement on many issues, part of the resolution of the HRTO Application is that the University will collaborate with sexual assault centres to provide specialized counselling to sexual violence survivors from the 91ŃÇÉ« community. The other terms of the settlement are confidential.

The resolution does not constitute an admission of liability by the University or a concession by Ms. Gray of her case.

91ŃÇÉ« strives to be a progressive institution that believes in social justice and respects Ms. Gray's efforts to bring public attention to the issue of sexual assault and the treatment of survivors.

No further statements will be made by the parties regarding the settlement of Ms. Gray's HRTO Application.

Media contact:
Barbara Joy, Media Relations, 416 736 2100 ext. 55593, barbjoy@yorku.ca

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TORONTO, June 9, 2016 – A new guide released today shows how to include human rights into plans and strategies for homeless youth after the United Nations asked countries around the globe to make eliminating homelessness a top human rights priority.

The is designed to help those developing local and national strategies, community plans and policies for homeless youth to use a human rights approach. It shows why a human rights approach should be used, provides 10 steps on how to make it work, including immediate obligations, short-term targets and long-term goals, as well as a checklist to ensure plans comply with international law and uphold youth rights.

“It also shows that a human rights approach is not just about what goes into a youth homelessness strategy or community plan, but also about how it is developed,” said Melanie Redman, Executive Director of A Way Home Canada. “Youth must be meaningfully engaged at every step of the process. This may be the single most critical aspect to a successful strategy.”

The guide was created by Canada Without Poverty in partnership with the (Homeless Hub) at 91ŃÇÉ«, Canada and the .

A human rights framework not only puts those affected at the centre of decision making, it brings human rights to the forefront of decision making to help identify systemic causes of homelessness. It addresses immediate needs while targeting structural causes and changes how youth homelessness is understood so better solutions can be created. It empowers youth to bring concerns forward and when their human rights are violated, they can access justice. It also prioritizes those in the most desperate of circumstances and requires thought about the consequences of every policy decision.

Youth homelessness is not merely a result of individual circumstances, but systemic patterns of inequality, exclusion and neglect, and of a failure of states to act on their responsibilities as human rights protectors. According to Leilani Farha, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Housing, “Homelessness is, in fact, a violation of Canada’s human rights obligations. In other words, it’s the failure of Canada to implement the right to housing, the right to an adequate standard of living and other human rights that result in youth homelessness.”

“A human rights approach embraces the idea that all young people have a fundamental, legal right to be free of homelessness and to have access to adequate housing,” said 91ŃÇÉ« U Professor , director of the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness. “Homeless youth face incredible barriers to accessing services, securing safe and affordable housing and claiming rights.”

Many of the approximately 1.9 million teens who find themselves homeless every year in the United States, along with about 35,000 in Canada and at least 83,000 in the United Kingdom have experienced human rights violations before and during their time on the streets. Some of the most vulnerable to human rights abuses and becoming homeless include LGBTQ2 youth, youth fleeing violence and abuse, newcomer youth, those exiting care, Indigenous youth, youth with mental health issues and those involved with the criminal justice system.

In addition, the guide shows how to incorporate the rights that are of particular importance for youth, including a right to an adequate standard of living, housing, food, work, education, heath, equality, freedom of expression, life, access to justice, freedom of assembly, to personal security and privacy, and freedom from discrimination.

Ěýis known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our 52,000 students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91ŃÇÉ« students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world's most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91ŃÇÉ« U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 24 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide.

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Media Contact:

Sandra McLean, 91ŃÇÉ« Media Relations, 416-736-2100 ext. 22097 / sandramc@yorku.ca

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