Slavery never left it just got rebranded.
The Thirteenth Amendment needs to be amended.
Per Wikipedia: The Thirteenth Amendment (Amendment XIII) to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. The amendment was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, by the House of Representatives on January 31, 1865, and ratified by the required 27 of the then 36 states on December 6, 1865, and proclaimed on December 18, 1865. It was the first of the three Reconstruction Amendments adopted following the American Civil War.
In Canada, large companies that make or sell goods have to submit an S-211 modern slavery report. Here’s the 2025 version from Costco: https://scalca.blob.core.windows.net/2025/Costco_Wholesale_Canada_Ltd_2025_gp5j65.pdf
The catalogue: https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/lbrr/ctlg/index-en.aspx?l=7
73 violations involving slave labour, 1 with child labour, am I reading that right?
More or less. 73 independent audits reported one or more issues related to slavery/forced labour (defined by Costco’s own code), and one audit reported at least one issue related to child labour within Costco’s supplier network. The exact dates, locations or details of audit results are not publicly provided in this report, but the important thing is that it is being audited, counted and brought to light at least internally, and any concerns from any report may be investigated by the Public Safety Minister.
More details found on the government office’s site.
Thanks this seems like really good information. I’ve never heard of this…
Lol I had to go look at the Australian information: https://modernslaveryregister.gov.au/statements/FkWupflwbKmOisg/pdf.
I love how their solution is “e-training” modules for their suppliers. Really performative guys.
A lot of companies here as well have legal provisions in the contracts we have with external vendors to state anti-slavery.