COVID-19 drove sharp rise in child labour worldwide, as ‘risky’ goods bought by Canadians increase, report says

News Snapshot:

A Kashmiri boy plucks flowers during saffron harvest in a field in Pampore on the outskirts of Srinagar on Nov. 5, 2022.TAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP/Getty Images Canadians might be unwittingly contributing to a pandemic-related rise in child labour worldwide by buying more imports produced by children, a report from an international aid charity is warning. Canada imported $48-billion in “risky” goods in 2021, an increase of almost 30 per cent since 2016, the report by World Vision Canada says. The report said “child labour has risen for the first time in 20 years,” with the increase partly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic,...