OTTAWA — The federal government will put the burden on importers, instead of customs officials, to prove that the products they bring into Canada are not produced with forced labour, according to new legislation tabled Friday.
Prime Minister Mark Carney had promised that his government would be tabling a new bill to reinforce its current laws to stop the import of goods made with forced labour. His comments came after the Trump administration threatened earlier this month to impose new tariffs on Canadian sectors not covered under a free trade deal, claiming there is a lack of policing in Canada against questionable goods in the supply chain.
The new bill, C-35, proposes that the minister of foreign affairs establish a list of goods for which there are reasonable grounds to suspect were produced wholly or in part by forced labour. That list will be compiled with the input of ministerial colleagues and the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA).
Rob Oliphant, parliamentary secretary to the minister, said that CBSA officers will have access to that list and will be able to target the specific goods that are imported into Canada to better follow up with importers to investigate whether forced labour was involved.
“We now have a targeted approach,” he said.
Oliphant said that if certain imports are on the government’s list, then the importer will have the responsibility to give evidence that these products were created or produced in factories or other work environments with fair labour standards.
“Those steps will be taken, hopefully proactively, by importers before this happens, so they’ll do their due diligence, because they don’t want to be left with (illegal) shipments,” he said.
Oliphant said he would not comment on hypotheticals, but the CBSA has noted that past shipments that were either intercepted or detained for suspicions of forced labour have included solar panels, automotive parts, textile goods and frozen seafood. In 2024, a group of U.S. senators, which included now U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, called on the U.S., Canada and Mexico to take more action to stop trade in slave-made goods, especially by minority Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang region.
Oliphant said this approach is about Canada competing on a level playing field.
“We believe that this legislation will — I’m not using the word harmonized, but — be in line with expectations coming from Mexico, coming from the United States, but also with our European partners, and anybody who would want to do business with Canada,” he said.
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) released a report last week that said Canada, Mexico, the European Union and other countries have “failed to effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour.”
The USTR is invoking Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 , which is designed to address unfair foreign acts, policies or practices affecting U.S. commerce.
As a result, the Trump administration proposed that those countries, which include Canada, be hit with 10 per cent additional tariffs. Dozens of other countries which have partial or no bans on forced labour imports could be hit with a higher duty of 12.5 per cent.
Oliphant however said the newest tariff threats from the U.S. are not the main reason why Canada is acting to strengthen its current ban on imports made with forced labour.
“Canadians have continued to ask for stronger legislation, and so this is what we’re doing. We believe at the same time, concurrently, this will satisfy any concerns that any other country would have, including the U.S.,” the parliamentary secretary said.
In 2020, Canada implemented an import prohibition on goods produced wholly or in part by forced labour through an amendment to its Customs Tariff, in compliance with the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) which had just replaced NAFTA.
Other legislative efforts further improved transparency. In 2023, former Liberal MP John McKay passed a private member’s bill that requires companies to report any possible forced or child labour in their supply chains and in their annual financial statements.
The Liberals in late 2024 promised further changes to forced-labour laws, but that was followed by prime minister Justin Trudeau resigning and Carney calling an election in 2025.
Government officials, speaking at a not-for-attribution technical briefing on the new legislation on Friday, said Bill C-35 will be a standalone piece of legislation and that the import ban on forced labour will therefore be removed from the Customs Tariff.
Conservative MP Michael Barrett said his party will examine the new bill but criticized the government for saying it already had strong measures in place to block those imports.
“Now, they’re introducing legislation saying that it’s going to do the very thing that they were already doing,” he said.
Oliphant said the current system had put the onus on CBSA, which he claims did not have the adequate resources to do its job, so the government is adding 1,000 new officers.
Carney has also said the government will be eliminating the position of an ombudsman tasked with investigating allegations of human rights violations, including the use of forced labour, by Canadian companies abroad. Carney said it was not very effective.
The senior government officials revealed the role of Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise has been vacant for over a year and the responsible department will move forward with the process of closing the office in due course.
The government intends to consult publicly about Bill C-35 over the summer.
National Post
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