Fact Sheet # 3

Canada’s Record at the 

International Labour Organization (ILO)* *

• At the annual June Conference of the ILO, the Canadian government representatives take an active role in developing the ILO’s Conventions and always vote in favour of adoption of each Convention.  Canada’s record at ratifying those Conventions however is extremely poor.  Of the ILO’s 188 Conventions, Canada has only ratified 30.
• Canada has only ratified three of the 30 ILO Conventions developed since 1982. 
• Canada has ratified only five of the eight ILO fundamental Conventions.  Canada is one of only nine countries in the world that have not ratified Convention No. 29 - Forced Labour (1930). Canada is one of only 29 countries in the world that have not ratified Convention No. 98 – Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining (1949). Canada is one of only 51 countries in the world that have not ratified Convention No. 138 – Minimum Age (1973). 
• Since 1982, Canada’s record with respect to the number of complaints submitted to the ILO’s Freedom of Association Committee is the worst of any of the ILO’s 183 member States with unions in Canada filing more complaints than the national labour movements of any other country.  
• There has been 79 ILO complaints filed against Canadian federal and provincial labour legislationsince 1982.
• Of those 79 complaints, the ILO has reached decisions on 77 and found that freedom of association principles had been violated in 73 of the cases.
• Over 90 percent of all ILO complaints on restrictive labour laws passed in Canada since 1982 were found to be in violation of ILO freedom of association principles.

 

The Canadian government is failing in its responsibility under international labour and human rights standards to deter such attacks and protect workers’ rights.  In fact, the federal government’s record of workers’ rights violations is as deficient or worst than many of the provincial governments in Canada.