- On 27 May 2025, the University of Toronto released a new report, Exports & Exploitation: US Prison Labour Hidden in Canadian Supply Chains, examining how goods made with US prison labour are entering Canadian supply chains, despite Canada’s import ban on goods made with forced or prison labour.
- Research draws on investigative journalism, lawsuits, company statements, and interviews with incarcerated workers and advocates in Alabama.
Key findings from the report:
- The US incarcerates nearly 2 million people, with three-quarters required to work, generating more than USD$ 11 billion annually. Prison labour operates through government programmes and private contracts, allowing companies to pay prisons for access to workers while avoiding some labour protections.
- Refusing work can lead to solitary confinement, loss of parole, or transfers to more dangerous facilities. Because prisoners must pay for essentials like hygiene items, they are effectively compelled to work.
- In some states, workers earn only $0.14 to $0.63 an hour or no pay at all. Deductions for “room and board” or court fees are common.
- Conditions are often unsafe and coercive, with reports of sexual violence and harassment, physical abuse, extreme heat, and a lack of protective equipment. Incarcerated workers are excluded from OSHA and most labour laws.
- Two ongoing lawsuits — Council v. Ivey and Stanley v. Ivey — accuse Alabama and a handful of private companies of maintaining a modern system of forced prison labour.
- Prison-made goods are sold through numerous intermediaries and are difficult to trace. The report identified links to the food and agriculture sector, the automotive sector, the hospitality sector, the construction sector and other consumer goods.