Canada Scraps Rights Watchdog
The Spin
Pro-government narrative
Scrapping CORE while tabling Bill C-35 is the right call — the watchdog launched only five investigations in six years and produced recommendations against just two companies, making it a costly symbol with no real teeth. The new legislation shifts the burden of proof onto importers and creates a targeted list of high-risk goods, which is a far more practical enforcement mechanism. Canada needed a real framework, not a hollow office that advocates themselves admitted lacked the power to compel documents or testimony.
Opposition narrative
Eliminating CORE instead of fixing it is a failure of political will — the office was chronically underfunded and left vacant, and now that neglect is being used as the excuse to shut it down. Communities harmed by Canadian corporate misconduct abroad now have no clear avenue for accountability, which directly undermines Canada's obligations under international human rights law. Tabling new import legislation doesn't replace an independent body that could actually investigate and compel evidence from companies.
Narrative C
Mark Carney is right to scrap the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE). All it has done is target China while failing to investigate broader human rights violations. CORE became embroiled in U.S. narratives alleging genocide against Uyghurs in Xinjiang, later recasting these claims as involving "slave labor" without credible evidence. The U.S. sanctions and policies have adversely affected the Uyghur population, undermining the very rights they purportedly aim to defend.
