Karen Hamilton, QUOI Media
The controversy regarding recent deportations in the U.S. has received wide coverage in Canada, including news that a detention centre, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz, is now operating in a remote area of the Florida Everglades. Readers may be less aware of the Canadian connection to this infamous facility. A subsidiary of the Quebec-based company, GardaWorld, has been contracted to provide security at the Florida compound.
GardaWorld’s involvement in this venture links the company to the increasingly cruel migrant policies of the U.S. and to potential violations of human rights law. Yet, contrary to what most Canadians might think, Canada lacks effective mechanisms to hold companies like GardaWorld accountable.
Canada should adopt legislation requiring Canadian companies to take action to prevent human rights abuse in their global operations.
The Florida detention facility consists of tents that have been hastily erected on a repurposed airstrip. The site lacks permanent water, sewage and energy infrastructure. The area is surrounded by wetlands that contain dangerous insects and animals. The climate is hot and humid, and Florida is the hurricane capital of America.
These conditions raise concerns about the health and safety of both detainees and workers. Just days after opening, detainees began to report inhumane and unsanitary conditions at the centre, including scarce food and water, infrequent opportunities to bathe and power outages.
The centre’s remote location also gives cause for concern regarding oversight and due process.
The Florida government hasn’t published the names of people being held at the facility and lawyers report having difficulty locating their clients. State legislators seeking to inspect the facility were forced to bring legal action in order to gain limited access. They report that detainees are held in cages, in groups of 32. One Florida legislator called the facility an internment camp and demanded its closure.
The Seminole and Miccosukee tribes of Florida, on whose ancestral land the facility stands, have also expressed opposition to the facility. The American Civil Liberties Union calls the facility a direct assault on Indigenous sovereignty.
Canadian corporations have a responsibility to respect internationally recognized human rights. They must avoid causing or contributing to human rights violations. Business enterprises can fulfil this responsibility by carrying out human rights due diligence. In contexts where the risk of human rights abuse is high, heightened due diligence is warranted.
Based on GardaWorld’s past performance, there’s reason to believe the company hasn’t undertaken the rigorous due diligence that its involvement in the Florida detention centre merits.
In 2012 and 2014, GardaWorld staff were jailed in Afghanistan when they were discovered with unlicensed assault rifles. In 2020 a major exposé revealed numerous fatal crashes involving the company’s armoured trucks. Drivers told the newspaper that the trucks were not properly maintained and that they lacked appropriate training. Moreover, the company has settled multiple lawsuits, including a 2020 claim involving allegations it defrauded the U.S. government by misrepresenting employee qualifications at the U.S. embassy in Kabul, and a 2025 suit involving a cybersecurity breach of employees’ private data.
Canadian multinationals like GardaWorld are active in economic sectors and geographic locales that carry significant human rights risks. For years, UN experts have sounded the alarm regarding the overseas operations of Canadian companies. These authorities have repeatedly called on the Canadian government to move beyond voluntary guidelines and adopt meaningful corporate accountability mechanisms.
France adopted legislation that requires its multinational companies to prevent human rights abuses, wherever they operate. Similar laws exist in Germany and are in development for the European Union and in South Korea.
These ‘human rights and environmental due diligence’ laws mandate parent companies to identify risks in their global operations and supply chains. Companies are required to manage these risks and prevent human rights and environmental harms. When harm does take place, companies must provide victims with remedy.
Canada should also adopt such a law. Doing so could give much-needed credibility to the government’s claim that Canada is a global human rights champion.
The Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability has long called on Canada to adopt robust human rights and environmental due diligence legislation, and has even developed a model law. As the GardaWorld case illustrates, there’s good reason for the Canadian government to take it forward.
Karen Hamilton is Director of Above Ground, a Canadian human rights and corporate accountability project. Above Ground is a member of the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability, a coalition of over 40 civil society organizations formed in 2005.
