Canada’s Modern Slavery Act: Key Updates From Public Safety Canada Ahead of the May 31, 2026 Reporting Deadline

Public Safety Canada (“PSC”) has released updated guidance (the “Updated Guidance”) under Canada’s Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act (the “Modern Slavery Act”) that refines expectations for entities reporting under the Modern Slavery Act. The Updated Guidance introduces several important clarifications intended to support entities in preparing for the next annual reporting deadline on May 31, 2026, including offering greater clarity on PSC’s expectations for a compliant report.

This legal update constitutes the seventh instalment in our series on the Modern Slavery Act. For further background information, please see our prior updates from October 2022, September 2023, January 2024, December 2024, April 2025, and October 2025.

Background

The annual reporting obligations under the Modern Slavery Act apply to entities that: (i) are listed on a Canadian stock exchange; (ii) are doing business or holding assets in Canada; and (iii) meet certain financial or operational thresholds, as set out in our prior update from September 2023 (an “Obligated Entity”). Obligated Entities must publicly disclose the steps they have taken to identify and reduce the risk of forced labour and child labour in their operations and supply chains in a report filed on or before May 31 of each year. Failure to do so can result in significant penalties.

Overview of Updated Guidance

The Updated Guidance focuses on the following five key areas:

1. clarifying “very minor dealings” and the threshold for reporting;
2. improving transparency on PSC’s review and publication process;
3. reinforcing attestation requirements;
4. protecting personal information; and
5. supporting multi-jurisdictional reporting, including updates to examples and expectations regarding report content.

Obligated Entities should assess the Updated Guidance in the context of their broader obligations under the Modern Slavery Act and consider how it may influence their approach to meeting the reporting requirement.

Five Key Clarifications

Below is a summary of the key clarifications introduced in the Updated Guidance.

1. Clarifying “Very Minor Dealings”: Understanding When Reporting Is Required

Previously, PSC noted that it would not pursue enforcement against Obligated Entities with only “very minor dealings” in the production or importation of goods, offering little guidance beyond stating that generally accepted de minimis principles would be applied when assessing an Obligated Entity’s overall operations and resulting reporting obligations.

Under the Updated Guidance, PSC now clarifies that:

• activities that are incidental, low‑volume or not central to an entity’s core business, may fall outside the scope of the reporting requirement as “very minor dealings”;
• Obligated Entities should assess the scale, frequency and relevance of their production or importation activities within the context of their overall operations; and
• PSC will continue to apply generally accepted de minimis principles.

Importantly, “very minor dealings” remains non-statutory and without a bright-line test or quantitative threshold against which Obligated Entities can assess their operations. PSC also removed language from its previous guidance suggesting it would decline enforcement where an Obligated Entity was only engaged in distribution or sales. Therefore, Obligated Entities should document their rationale if they conclude that reporting is not required and should be prepared to justify non-reporting decisions.

2. Increased Transparency in PSC’s Review Process

PSC confirms that to fulfil the submission requirements, Obligated Entities must submit a report in PDF format (the “Report”) and complete the online questionnaire.

PSC will publish the Report and certain elements of the questionnaire following a high-level quality assurance review. The Updated Guidance emphasizes that the Report should, as much as possible, reflect the information contained in the online questionnaire because the Report serves as the public-facing document in PSC’s library.

3. Attestation Requirements: Signature Formats

The Updated Guidance confirms that attestation pages may include wet signatures, typed signatures or digitally inserted signatures, but that simply typing “signed” or leaving the attestation block blank does not meet the statutory requirement. The attestation must be signed by a member of an Obligated Entity’s board of directors or other governing body.

PSC emphasizes that a Report filed without attestation will fail to satisfy the reporting requirement under the Modern Slavery Act and must be resubmitted.

4. Protecting Personal Information

The Updated Guidance reiterates that no “personal information” (as defined under Section 3 of the Privacy Act (Canada)) should be included in either an Obligated Entity’s Report or its accompanying questionnaire.

PSC will not publish any submission containing “personal information” such as home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, IP addresses, social insurance numbers or other unique identifiers. Disclosure of such information will require the Obligated Entity to revise and resubmit its Report.

5. Multi-Jurisdictional Template Support and Updates to the Report Content

The Updated Guidance links to the optional joint reporting template developed by Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia in 2025. As a reminder, Obligated Entities subject to reporting obligations in multiple jurisdictions may use the joint reporting template to streamline disclosure but must still ensure that local requirements are met. Please see our prior update from October 2025 for additional details regarding the joint reporting template.

The Updated Guidance expands the examples of the types of information that may be included under required reporting categories. Noteworthy updates include:

• Structure, Activities and Supply Chains:

PSC focuses more directly on goods and suppliers, removing references to “services” and “service providers” when describing activities.

Furthermore, PSC no longer states that “entities should also describe the activities of any entities under their control.” Instead, PSC acknowledges the complexity of modern supply chains and recognizes that Obligated Entities may not have visibility into all activities and business relationships that feed into their products. The emphasis is now on Obligated Entities identifying and reporting on the sources of their goods, thereby demonstrating a commitment to continuous improvement in supply chain transparency.

• Policies and Due Diligence Processes:

The Updated Guidance now states that Obligated Entities should provide a summary of actions, programs and initiatives undertaken to prevent and reduce risks within their operations and supply chains. This summarized view is preferred over reproducing entire internal policies.

• Assessing Effectiveness:

The Updated Guidance now encourages Obligated Entities to establish short-, medium- and long-term goals to demonstrate continuous progress year-over-year.

Conclusion

While the Updated Guidance introduces several helpful clarifications and examples of disclosure required, it does not reflect a significant shift from PSC’s earlier interpretations of the Modern Slavery Act. Importantly, a Report prepared in accordance with previous versions of PSC guidance will continue to be accepted, allowing Obligated Entities to maintain continuity in their reporting practices.

Should you require clarification with respect to any of the above, or wish to request a consultation, please do not hesitate to contact Peter Volk ([email protected]), Alex Karlsen ([email protected]) or Kyra Flomen ([email protected]). The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of articling student Zehra Irfan in the preparation of this update.

This update is intended as a summary only and should not be regarded or relied upon as advice to any specific client or regarding any specific situation.

If you would like further information regarding the issues discussed in this update or if you wish to discuss any aspect of this commentary, please feel free to contact us.