OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada’s corporate ethics watchdog on Tuesday launched separate investigations into Nike Canada and Dynasty Gold to probe allegations the companies used or benefited from forced labor in their supply chains and operations in China.
The companies are alleged to have or have had supply chains or operations in China identified as using or benefiting from the use of Uyghur forced labor, the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise said in a statement.
Nike Canada and Dynasty Gold did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“I have decided to launch investigations into these complaints in order to get the facts and recommend the appropriate actions,” Ombudsperson Sheri Meyerhoffer said in the statement.
“I have not pre-judged the outcome of the investigations. We will await the results and we will publish final reports with my recommendations,” Meyerhoffer said.
(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa and Divya Rajagopal in Toronto; Editing by Chris Reese)