WELCOME TO THE ARCHIVE (1994-2014) OF THE MAQUILA SOLIDARITY NETWORK. For current information on our ongoing work on the living wage, women's labour rights, freedom of association, corporate accountability and Bangladesh fire and safety, please visit our new website, launched in October, 2015: www.maquilasolidarity.org
January 7, 2007
On January 7, 2007, the City of Calgary became Canada’s third major city to adopt a No Sweat purchasing policy, joining Vancouver and Toronto.
The new Sustainable Environmental and Ethical Procurement Policy, which now governs the City’s bulk purchases of apparel, food and chemicals, was the product of a lengthy effort by determined local No Sweat campaign activists.
Unlike most No Sweat policies adopted in Canada, the Calgary policy makes a distinction between goods produced in Canada, which must meet provincial labour laws, and those produced elsewhere, which must meet the minimum standards of the International Labour Organization (ILO), as well as local labour laws.
In most cases, this dual standards approach is unlikely to affect how suppliers are treated in practice. However, the fact that the child labour provision of the Code requires factories outside of Canada to meet ILO standards, but only requires factories within Canada to meet provincial laws could be consequential, since Alberta labour law allows child labour below the ILO minimum age in certain industries, including the food services industry. Canada has not ratified ILO Convention 138 on child labour.
Overall, however, the policy is a victory for the Calgary No Sweat activists who pushed so diligently for its adoption.
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