AIAG is offering a new webinar on the legal fight against forced labor in supply chains in North America and Europe. Presented by Stephen Pike, a partner at Gowling WLG in Toronto, the webinar — titled “Dynamic Changes Impacting How Businesses Address Forced Labor in Supply Chain Risks” —includes an overview of recent and upcoming legislative, regulatory, enforcement, and stakeholder developments facing the automotive and other industries in the U.S., Canada, and Europe as businesses around the world work to address forced labor concerns in their own operations and supply chains.

“Organizations should not be passive or reactive in managing these risks,” says Pike. “Time is not on the side of businesses, and tomorrow is not soon enough to be improving codes of conduct, supply contracts, procurement policies, and ensuring that meaningful, targeted, and effective supply chain due diligence efforts have been implemented and fully documented.”

Pike describes the forced labor crisis today as “the perfect storm of dynamic legal changes in North America and Europe,” adding that since the COVID pandemic, the number of people trapped in forced labor around the world has grown by about 8 million children, according to UNICEF and the International Labor Organization.

“Continuing supply chain disruptions and uncertainties are altering the way that businesses are managing the risks of forced labor in their operations and supply chains,” he says. “Canada has taken meaningful and impactful steps to address forced labor in supply chains, European governments have adopted mandatory human rights due diligence laws, and the U.S. government is targeting forced labor in supply chains as a critical component of its foreign policy with unprecedented robustness in legislative and enforcement activities.”

This high-level webinar is about 20 minutes and is available for download here at no charge.