Latest news with #forced labor
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 days ago
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Qatar Threatened to Cut Gas Supplies to Europe
Qatar has threatened to cut gas supplies to the European Union in response to the bloc's due diligence law on forced labor and environmental damage, a letter from Qatar to the Belgian government, seen by Reuters, showed. Qatar is the world's third-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), after the United States and Australia. It has provided between 12% and 14% of Europe's LNG since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In a letter to the Belgian government dated May 21, Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi said the country was reacting to the EU's corporate sustainability due diligence directive (CSDDD), which requires larger companies operating in the EU to find and fix human rights and environmental issues in their supply chains. 'Put simply, if further changes are not made to CSDDD, the State of Qatar and QatarEnergy will have no choice but to seriously consider alternative markets outside of the EU for our LNG and other products, which offer a more stable and welcoming business environment,' said the letter. A spokesperson for Belgium's representation to the EU declined to comment on the letter, which was first reported by German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. The European Commission also received a letter from Qatar, dated May 13, a Commission spokesperson told Reuters, noting that EU lawmakers and countries are currently negotiating changes to the CSDDD. 'It is now for them to negotiate and adopt the substantive simplification changes proposed by the Commission,' the spokesperson said. Brussels proposed changes to the CSDDD earlier this year to reduce its requirements - including by delaying its launch by a year, to mid-2028, and limiting the checks companies will have to make down their supply chains. Companies that fail to comply could face fines of up to 5% of global turnover. Qatar said the EU's changes had not gone far enough. In the letter, Kaabi said Qatar was particularly concerned about the CSDDD's requirement for companies have a climate change transition plan aligned with preventing global warming exceeding 1.5 Celsius - the goal of the Paris Agreement. 'Neither the State of Qatar nor QatarEnergy have any plans to achieve net zero in the near future,' said the letter, which said the CSDDD undermined countries' right to set their own national contributions towards the Paris Agreement goals. In an annex to the letter, also seen by Reuters, Qatar proposed removing the section of CSDDD which includes the requirement for climate transition plans. Qatar is seeking to play a larger role in Asia and Europe as competition from the world's biggest supplier the United Sates increases. Last December, Qatar's Energy Minister told the Financial Times, 'If the case is that I lose 5% of my generated revenue by going to Europe, I will not go to Europe. I'm not bluffing.' Al-Kaabi said, 'Five percent of generated revenue of QatarEnergy means 5% of generated revenue of the Qatar state. This is the people's money, so I cannot lose that kind of money - and nobody would accept losing that kind of money.'
CBC
16-07-2025
- CBC
Manitoba hotel owner charged with trafficking employees granted bail
A Manitoba hotel owner charged with human trafficking has been granted bail after four of his employees from India reported being underpaid, forced to work 15-hour days and threatened with deportation. Jai Inder Sandhu, 63, sat quietly in the prisoner's box in a Winnipeg courtroom Wednesday afternoon as Manitoba provincial court Judge Robert Heinrichs delivered the reasons for his decision. Those reasons cannot be revealed because of a publication ban. Sandhu's release conditions include abiding by a curfew, turning in his Canadian passport to RCMP within 48 hours of being released from custody and having no contact with the four complainants in the case or with his co-accused, Satbir Sandhu, 48, unless they're with their lawyers or as needed for court purposes. RCMP announced last month they'd charged the two, who are a couple, with trafficking in persons and receiving material benefit from trafficking, while Jai Inder Sandhu was also charged with withholding or destroying documents and uttering threats. Police did not identify their hotel by name, but CBC News confirmed Jai Inder Sandhu is an owner of the Howard Johnson hotel in Portage la Prairie. Sandhu's release conditions include a bail of $10,000 cash and sureties for a total of $40,000. He was also ordered to live at a specific address in Winnipeg and not move without permission from the court. Mounties previously said their investigation in the case began on Feb. 9, when they got a call about a disturbance at the hotel west of Winnipeg, where the four employees lived and worked. Two female employees later came forward to report their situation to police, and another woman and a man were later also identified as victims, RCMP said. Mounties said all four were promised fair wages, affordable living and legal work in Manitoba through federal labour market impact assessments — documents issued to employers by the federal government that allow them to hire foreign workers if they can't find a Canadian or permanent resident to fill a position. Until recently, those assessments both allowed foreign nationals to work legally in Canada and increased their chances of becoming permanent residents by adding points to their permanent residency applications. WATCH | 2 arrested in labour trafficking investigation, say Manitoba RCMP: 2 arrested in labour trafficking investigation, say Manitoba RCMP 20 days ago In the Portage la Prairie case, while three of the employees eventually got the assessment document, which would have legalized their work, the employer didn't meet the conditions outlined. Another of the employees never got one, RCMP said. The employees reported being paid roughly half of Manitoba's minimum hourly wage and said they faced threats of deportation and other intimidation tactics. In one instance, one person said their identification documents were withheld from them, Mounties said. The four did "pretty much everything" at the hotel, from working the front counter and the restaurant to doing cleaning, RCMP said. One person was recruited through friends of family, while others got involved through word of mouth or advertisements online. All had been working at the hotel for 10 months to a year, police said.
