[Asha] This is your Marketplace. Inside Canada's hospitals,
a national spot-check. We're going to be burning
through this PPE pretty quickly. [Asha] Where does
our PPE come from? Canada is tainted and
Canada is complicit. [Asha] The US has cracked down. Will we? I take this situation
very seriously. [Asha] Your
Marketplace starts now. We're in Malaysia's
capital, Kuala Lumpur. [interpreter] They
treated me like a slave. [Asha] Going undercover to
expose the dark side of a global industry. [interpreter] We are afraid. [Asha] We're about to show you
how Canada's personal protective equipment is made. [interpreter] I was cheated. The company does not care. If we complain then the company
will be forced to take care of us. [intercom] Code blue, 7-6... [Asha] Back in Canada, we head
to the front lines and follow two doctors relying on
PPE like never before. First stop, Humber
River Hospital in Toronto. We're inside the ICU. There are quite a few
COVID patients here. Yeah, he is breathing on
the ventilator right now. [Asha] We're trying to get a
sense of this second wave and how healthcare workers
are dealing with it. Gentleman with COVID pneumonia
is slowly recovering but still needs
a lot of support. [Asha] How often would you
say you use gloves a day? We go through boxes
through the week...it's a lot. [Asha] Dr Sanjay Manocha is
the Head of Critical Care. At our hospital
we're at a brink, our ICU is at 100% capacity. The worry is that, will we reach
a point of not being able to look after these patients
effectively because we're struggling with just finding
space for them. As the cases rise, we're going
to be burning through this PPE pretty quickly. [Asha] Same with Dr Nadia Alam. There's a shortage of gloves. It's become so tenuous. [Asha] She has an
office just outside Toronto. Today, we catch up
with her on a house call. Dr Alam has been forced to
get creative and get PPE from wherever she can. [Dr Alam] It's been a real
community effort trying to get PPE to everybody. Betty! I'm late, but I'm here! [Asha] We meet up with
her in between rounds. My job doesn't happen
with six feet of distance. I have intubated a number of
COVID positive patients to put them on life support. The only reason I
haven't gotten sick, it isn't just luck. It's PPE. [Asha] But as she scrambles to
maintain a steady supply of PPE, she often wonders,
where does it come from? I know how desperately I rely
on these things to keep myself safe. It would help to know what's
happening with the products that I use. Having that kind of information
would change the way I buy things. [Asha] Back in Malaysia we find
an insider desperate to expose what's happening
inside his factory. Fearful of abuse
and losing his job, we're not showing
you who he really is. We're calling him Hari. He starts secretly
recording inside Top Glove. They are the world's
biggest glove manufacturer. Our gloves have saved and
will save countless lives. [Asha] The company tripled
their profits making close to a billion dollars last year. They rely almost completely on
migrant workers from places like Nepal and Bangladesh who take
home as little as two Canadian dollars an hour. In corporate videos, they
praise their COVID protocols increased sanitation
and social distancing... ..but check out Hari's
undercover video. COVID protocols don't seem to be
enforced inside his factory and there's not a lot of
physical distancing either. Some are without masks or they're not wearing
them properly. And Hari sees very
little sanitizing. He also captures
safety concerns like this. No goggles while
sparks are flying. And workers injured on the job. Then there's this video showing
Top Glove's dorms where most employees live, sometimes close
to 30 sleeping in crowded rooms. Some of the floor, a
dirty toilet to share. It's really, really appalling. It's such a contrast to the
PR videos they put out for the international community. The health, safety and
welfare of the workers is really discounted. [Asha] Andy Hall is
a labour activist. He says he's spoken to dozens
of Top Glove workers over the years. They're dehumanized, and we can
say that clearly there have been and there still remain
situations of systemic forced labour in the company. [Asha] But it's what happens
behind the scenes that really worries Andy. He considers it modern slavery. Modern slavery is more the
psychological restraints on people, the debt bondage, the
inability to be able to change work, to be able to
resign, to be able to go home. [interpreter] I can't fall
asleep out of fear of police. I'm in a lot of danger. [Asha] Rahmat ran away from
Top Glove almost a year ago. We've changed his name and we're
interviewing him at a secret location in Malaysia. How did you find out
about work at Top Glove? [interpreter] I was told in
Bangladesh that the work had air conditioning, a very good job. There is no hardship. [Asha] Rahmat says he had to pay
a recruitment agency around 6000 Canadian dollars, three times
the average Bangladeshi income. To secure that huge sum, he
says his family sells land and borrows money from a loan shark,
but when he arrives at Top Glove it was not what he expected. [interpreter] Then
when I came here, I was cheated. I was assigned to work
in very hot conditions, doing maintenance, welding. [Asha] He complains to his
boss and that's when he says he becomes a target. [interpreter]
After I complained, he beat me a lot. He hit me with the helmet two,
three times everyday. [Asha] Rahmat is not alone. Here's another
example caught on camera. A Top Glove employee slapped
in front of his colleagues. [interpreter] He said, "Either
you go back to Bangladesh or leave Top Glove." "If you work at Top
Glove, I will kill you." Your supervisor threatened to
kill you? [interpreter] Yes, that's why, I
left that place. [Asha] We interview many
other workers from across the industry. If we talk about
Bangladeshi workers, they maybe have to work more
than two years even to break even from the debts. If they don't work, they
don't pay off the debts. And they have to carry on
working very hard and that creates a
situation of debt bondage. They are bonded to the
loans that they've taken out. [Asha] Is debt bondage an
indicator of forced labour? Yes. It's one of the main
indicators of forced labour. [Asha] Because he ran away from
Top Glove and owes money back home Rahmat says he can't leave Malaysia,
or he'll get arrested. You're wiping
tears from your eyes. How hard has this been for you? [interpreter] I have no job. I have no money for food. I am in great hardship. [Asha] He says he hasn't
seen his family in over 2 years. [interpreter] If I
can't repay the money, my land or house, all of
these could be taken away. [Asha] It sounds
like you're trapped. [interpreter] Yes,
that is how I feel. [Asha] Back at the
factory, and soon after Hari sends us videos,
there is this. [man] A COVID cluster crisis has
now completely crippled Top Glove. [woman] The world's largest
maker of rubber gloves is reporting a
COVID-19 outbreak. [Asha] Top Glove is forced to
stop much of its production by the Malaysian government. Nearly 6000 workers
infected, one dies in hospital. It's one of the biggest
COVID outbreaks in the country. Our insider is self-isolating. [Asha] We are doing COVID tests
because many people in the company are infected. [Asha] Including one
of his roommates. Are you worried
about getting sick? [interpreter]
I am worried. [Asha] And watch this, Top Glove
workers packed together as they await COVID testing. Crowded hostels. It's about 30 degrees and
quarantined workers are taking a shower next to piles of garbage. The Malaysian
government is now investigating. Our investigation uncovers
products linked to Top Glove inside Canadian hospitals and
doctor's offices including Dr Alam's. Oh my God. [Asha] This is where workers
in the glove industry live. I am devastated
looking at this... ..and infuriated
that there are people who take advantage of
human suffering just to make a buck, just to make a profit. So wrong on so many levels. [Asha] It's
obviously upsetting for you. What is getting at you the most? That nobody's protecting them. Nobody's taking care of them,
what they are doing makes such a profound difference. Excuse me. Um, what they are doing makes
such a profound difference in my life and my ability to
take care of people. And it makes me mad that
nobody's taking care of them. [Asha] We ask Top Glove for
an on-camera interview, they decline. Instead in a statement they tell
us they don't tolerate violence or harassment, and they have a
hotline to report abuse with whistleblower protection. They say they're
monitoring overtime hours; they're improving their living
and working conditions and they're enhancing
their COVID protocols. But it's not just Top Glove. [interpreter] It
feels like a prison. [Asha] We speak with
migrant workers from several other glove companies
in Malaysia. [interpreter] The living and
food conditions are not good. [Asha] Workers at a company
called Ansell complain about excessive overtime, debt bondage, same at
Kossan rubber industries. We also see crowded living
conditions at Smart Glove and Brightway. The government cracks down,
raiding Brightway's factory back in December. Keep in mind these companies
make billions of dollars each year. We can say without doubt that
the industry remains a hotbed of systemic forced labour
and modern slavery. [Asha] I just want
to get it right. You're saying that there's
likely systemic forced labour in every factory in Malaysia? Yeah, definitely. To some extent ,some
more than others. [Asha] I think people here in
Canada will be shocked to hear that. I mean the people in Canada,
they distance themselves from the reality of the
production process which allow them to live such a
life of comfort and security and welfare and safety, but that
comes at a cost to the workers who are producing that kind
of equipment at such low cost and in such
abhorrent situations. [Asha] In Toronto, at this
hospital inside their storage room we find some
familiar names on our list. Ansell is one of them. Remember, workers there complain
of debt bondage and excessive overtime. Our documents also show
Ansell orders from Top Glove. We tell ICU
doctor Sanjay Manocha. [Asha] In our investigation
we've been able to link some of the products, the unethical
products that have been made, they are here at your hospital. Well, it's shocking to hear. I would have expected that
there would have been more due diligence. [Asha] Is that something that
you may personally take on to find out where they're sourced? It's important that we don't
compromise other people just to provide the protective
equipment that we need. It's something that needs
to be looked into urgently. [Asha] The US has been cracking
down much more than Canada. This is the federal
government's job. They need to do a better job. [Asha] Why Canada isn't taking
any action to stop these goods coming into the country. I take this situation
very seriously. [Asha] This is your Marketplace. The PPE
business is booming. As demand soars, so do the
stories of human suffering. [interpreter] They treat us like
a slave, they beat us. The PPE industry is an industry
where there are gross human rights violations going on. [Asha] We trace gloves linked to
Malaysian factories back to this doctor's office and
this Toronto hospital. It's shocking. Oh my god. [Asha] This is where workers in
the glove industry live. But who else is buying them? That's exactly what
we're trying to find out. We do spot checks at health care
facilities across the country, and also find
these gloves in BC, Manitoba, and Ontario. We obtain internal
company documents, pour over shipping records to
track down these suppliers. I'm here at Bio
Nuclear Diagnostics. I'm outside Medical Mart. I'm here at Superior Gloves. [Asha] We find 31 companies have
imported products from the five glove makers
we're investigating. 125 shipments, roughly 255
million gloves imported into Canada over two years. Some importers even
have government contracts. All the records,
they're matching up here. Everything's lining up. Toronto supplier
Ronco is on our list. I'm seeing boxes
upon boxes of gloves. Yes. [Asha] Ron Pechioli
is company president. So, in this case we can see
that the product is coming from Malaysia. [Asha] His company has
ordered from Top Glove before. But after learning about forced
labour allegations inside their factories,
he stopped buying from them. [Asha] Why did you stop? I think that the current
situation made us to make a decision that we are going right
now to cease all our operation with them. We have lots of pride and ethics
in the way that we do business. [Asha] How do you know that the
other suppliers that you source from are not having those same
type of labour issues overseas? This is very easy. We have people from our
organization that physically go to the facility. We validate that the information
is right, we take pictures. It's coming here and our quality
control manager here makes the final decision to approve or
disapprove this type of company. [Asha] So, you carefully
vet your Ronco partners. That's right. [Asha] But our records show
Ronco ordered from another Malaysian glove
company with some problems. Kossan Rubber Industries. Remember workers there tell us
about debt bondage and excessive hours. [interpreter] There was no rest
day for one year. [Asha] Have you heard
of the company Kossan? Yes. I heard about Kossan. [Asha] What do you
know about that company? I know that it's a
very good company. I haven't heard any
labour issues today. [Asha] We've talked to workers
who say that they're working excessive overtime,
they have debt bondage. You haven't heard
anything about before-- No, I haven't heard, I haven't
read, I haven't seen any information about that. Definitely it's not right
to do business in that way. This is wrong. [Asha] Does that change your
mind about doing business with Kossan? If this is true, yes. [Asha] You seem a bit-- Surprised.
I'm surprised. I know this company
for over 25 years. Thank you for letting us know,
we will take the right steps to ensure that we are doing
activities that are right for our organization. [Asha] We contact the
Canadian suppliers on our list. Superior Gloves say it will
continue doing business with Top Glove but is
monitoring the situation. Bio Nuclear Diagnostics says
it has stopped ordering from Brightway. Medline and its subsidiaries do
not respond to our requests for comment. So, what are governments doing
to stop this in its tracks? Last summer, US customs banned
the imports of some Top Glove products due to 'reasonable
evidence of forced labour'. What's Canada doing? It appears not so much. Millions of Top Glove products
are still entering our country and being used by so many of us. Migrant labour expert Andy
Hall has some choice words for Canadians. I think the Canadian government
is doing little to nothing to contribute to an improvement of
conditions in the PPE supply chain around the world. Canada is tainted and Canada is
complicit in this abuse that's going on. [Asha] And the
thing is, you know, the US has been cracking
down much more than Canada. This is the federal
government's job. They need to do a better job. [Asha] Canada does prohibit
the import of products linked to forced labour. But our border services agency
tells us they haven't stopped any shipments because flagging
these types of goods requires "significant
research and analysis." So, we ask for an on-camera
interview with Public Safety Minister Bill Blair and get
passed off to the Minister of Trade Mary Ng. Her office throws us over to the
Minister of Procurement Anita Anand. Then they tell us to contact
the Minister of Labour Filomena Tassi. After multiple
attempts for answers, we learn Minister Anand is
at a public health briefing. One of our CBC reporters
gets a question in for us. [reporter] Our colleagues
at marketplace have been investigating the disposable
glove industry in Malaysia, so we're wondering why Canada
isn't taking any action to stop these goods coming
into the country. I take this
situation very seriously. Forced labour is a significant
and unacceptable problem in global supply chains, and as
soon as I was made aware of this issue I have ordered and asked
my team to look into it. [Asha] We reach out to the
Malaysian manufacturers too. Brightway denies their dorms are
overcrowded and says its living facilities well
above industry standard. Smart Glove says it will be
upgrading its living quarters later this year. Kossan says they are working to
reduce overtime for its workers and any extra hours are
done on a voluntary basis. Ansell says employees are not
allowed to work more than 12 hours a day. Almost all the manufacturers
tell us they had no part in recruitment fees and say they're
committed to reimbursing their employees. [interpreter] As long as Canada
doesn't stop purchasing, workers won't find peace. It's not fair to
sacrifice someone else, even if they're
nameless, faceless, far away, just to
keep ourselves safe. That's a price that's too
high, not when we're committed to protecting lives right now. [David] COVID's
devastating legacy. I've been experiencing
symptoms for the last 9 months. [David] Who are Canada's
COVID long-haulers? I'm Kathy.
I'm forty-five. I'm Alyssa, I'm 10. [David] The symptoms. My legs went numb. Extreme fatigue. [David] The hidden costs. I have spent about
five thousand dollars. [David] Is Canada
failing these patients? It's depressing and
it's frustrating, that other countries are
so much further ahead of us. What are we going
to do with this? The tsunami of
disability, that is coming.
