May 2025

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RECOGNIZING GRACIOUS LIVING CORPORATION

The following report on Forced Labour and Child Labour in Canadian Entities and Supply Chains was written and arranged by Gracious Living Corporation and approved by its board of directors. Throughout this report, the entity will be referred to as “Gracious Living”, “GLC”, “the Company”, “our Company”, “we”, and “our”. The purpose of this report is to demonstrate Gracious Living’s commitment to the continuous practice in remaining obedient to the proper regulations set out to all entities and government bodies, and to abide by the laws against forced labour/child labour. This report is based on the actions that took place during GLC’s previous financial year, October 1st, 2023 - September 30th, 2024, and continued through to December 31st, 2024, and onward, in accordance with accurately informing the public and the Government of Canada about the Company’s actions against forced labour and child labour.  

 

Gracious Living was founded in 1980 and is a leading Canadian manufacturer of Patio Furniture and Storage Products, located in Woodbridge, Ontario. The Company’s commitment to excellence in offering timeless design and quality products is proudly reflected with North American Retailers. GLC strives to maintain a formidable, yet professional, organizational culture of strong/clear communication, teamwork, and openness to innovation, as we aim to augment the potential of our employees and our company in a continuously motivating manner.  

 

The Company pays close attention to detail in its daily quality control, sustainability actions, and in achieving its set goals. As well, GLC is continually resilient in its mission to exceed customer service expectations, provide high-quality products, and continuously innovate and improve its ability to succeed as a Canadian organization. The Company makes its products widely available and easily accessible to a variety of new and current customers, both within and outside of Canada. It is important to note that Gracious Living is not resident to other reporting requirements outside of its home jurisdiction. Along with this, and as explained more in-depth later in this report, GLC operates under conditions that are strict against forced labour and child labour. This notion is strongly enforced to certify that GLC’s practices are proper and in accordance with the governing laws and regulations set out to all entities.  

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PREVENTING RISK OF FORCED LABOUR AND/OR CHILD LABOUR IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN

​Throughout the previous financial year, Gracious Living has actioned a variety of procedures to prevent the risk of forced labour and/or child labour being used throughout business activities and at any stage in the supply chain process. This list of procedures includes:  

• Auditing / Carefully Monitoring the Supply Chain/Suppliers of GLC:

GLC is committed to ensuring safe practices within all areas of its supply chain and it starts with the persistence of auditing and closely monitoring its suppliers’ and supply chain’s operations. By conducting audits, GLC can uphold our commitment to ensure that no illegal practices, including forced labour and/or child labour, are present within the operations of our supply chain and suppliers. All suppliers the Company performs business with must complete a mandatory questionnaire prior to initiating business with GLC, to ensure their compliance with the laws, regulations, and Bill S-211 as it relates to all entities. This proves to GLC that the suppliers we work with are in accordance with strictly following and enforcing the laws in a similar manner and in alignment with our Company’s goals for continuous prevention and reduction from the risk of forced labour and child labour. Enforcing this is an important practice on behalf of GLC to better safeguard that our business practices are being performed in operations with similar interests to achieve the same goal of preventing and reducing the risk of such illegal practices.  

• Performing Internal Risk Assessments  

The results of GLC’s internal risk assessments provide our company with a controlled sense of our daily tasks relating to risk prevention methods and serve as a consistent reminder for our company to continue to do everything in its power to maintain a well-controlled environment that is free of forced labour and child labour. This procedure takes place through the process of annually reviewing GLC’s policies and procedures, ensuring all workers are trained and updated on the knowledge and enforcement of our policies and procedures, as well as updating the policies and procedures as needed and applying those changes within our workplace. 

• Enacting a strict Recruitment Policy

All GLC team members are employed into the workforce on a voluntary basis. As stated within our recruitment policy, only those with willingness and intention to work may be employed, so long as they meet or exceed the criteria for the position and the requirements of the Employment Standards Act, 2000, for employment in a manufacturing facility. It is important to note that GLC DOES NOT employ anyone under the age of 18.  Additionally, all permanent and contract employees are required to read, comply with, and sign off on GL Code of Conduct and Business Ethics.  

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DUE DILIGENCE PROCESSES IN PREVENTING FORCED LABOUR AND CHILD LABOUR

Gracious Living is proud to be Customs and Trade Partnership Against Terrorism  (C-TPAT) certified. Our Company has held this certification ever since 2009, and it allows GLC and its supply chain to ensure protection from illegal activities as it maintains within the C-TPAT security criteria.  

 

As previously mentioned, GLC issues a mandatory questionnaire to all potential suppliers where full completion is required and must be reviewed and approved by GLC before engaging in a business relationship with said supplier. Along with the questionnaire, we also provide suppliers with a copy of our Code of Conduct and Business Ethics, where a signature is required stating that the supplier has read, understood, and is willing to comply with the terms of our Code. This helps GLC ensure that all entities operating within the Company’s supply chain, and GLC itself, are in full compliance with Bill S-211 and understand the significance behind maintaining a reduced risk of forced / child labour.

 

With the above processes in place, GLC is strong in its due diligent actions towards the prevention and reduction of forced/child labour. GLC will continue to audit, assess, control, and manage its business activities and supply chain operations and is committed in providing a safe working environment that is free of risk and in compliance with Bill S-211. 

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IDENTIFYING RISKS IN SUPPLY CHAINS AND BUSINESS ACTIVITIES

Throughout its daily supply chain processes, regular inspections, and with the above procedures in place, Gracious Living has been able to best identify all associated risks with supply chains and their business activities relating to forced / child labour. Aspects relating to areas where the risks were identified include Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 suppliers, along with the consumption and usage of raw materials and commodities. The sectors of business activities within the supply chain that Gracious Living has identified risks include Manufacturing, Transportation, and Warehousing. The identification of these risks was supplemented using the following:

• GLC’s Mandatory Supplier Questionnaire

• GLC’s Code of Conduct and Business Ethics

• GLC’s C-TPAT Certification  

• GLC’s Recruitment Policy 

 

GLC conducts business with overseas suppliers, therefore, it is understood that all overseas suppliers comply with local and federal jurisdictional laws and regulations as well as completing GLC’s mandatory supplier checklist and complying with GLC’s business practice standards.  

 

With our current preventative measures in place GLC can manage any risks and/or assumed risks associated within our supply chain process and overseas suppliers. This is best to ensure all business activities comply with the proper laws and set out to all entities, and all practices are fair and within reason. With these processes in place from our previous financial year, GL was successful in concluding that the risks of forced/child labour were not present within our business activities and supply chains. Therefore, no remediation measures were necessary.  

 

All GLC employees are trained and informed on policies, practices, applicable operational procedures, and continuous preventative measures against forced / child labour.  

 

Gracious Living has been successful in identifying all risks relating to forced/child labour within its business activities and supply chain processes. GLC will continue to ensure that there is no presence of forced/child labour by continually reviewing our practices, policies, and procedures within our operations.  

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ATTESTATION

This report was written and prepared as per the guidelines provided by Public Safety Canada, and as set out in Bill S-211, Section 11(1), and 11(3). The contents within the report above indicate the actions taken by Gracious Living to prevent and reduce forced labour and child labour in its business activities and supply chain.  In accordance with the reporting requirements made by Public Safety Canada, the Co-President & CFO for Gracious Living Corporation has reviewed and approved this report.  

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Signed on May 30th, 2025, by Charles Kida

Co-President & CFO

Gracious Living Corporation

 

This warranty overrides any other warranty information found in product manuals or on product packaging.