Ottawa moves to tighten ban on imports made with forced labour after U.S. tariff threat

The federal soldier regime tabled a note on fri to convert the way Canada bars imports of products made with forced labour.

The move follows a new tariff threat by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration against dozens of countries, including Canada.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand was in Paris with Prime Minister Mark Carney as the legislation was tabled by her parliamentary secretary, Rob Oliphant.

"This will be a made-in-Canada solution to an international problem," he told reporters on Parliament Hill.

Oliphant said the bill would create a public list of products that have been linked to forced labour in specific regions, based on intelligence from embassies and other authorities.

The bill would require importers to prove that specific products from listed regions were not made through slavery.

MP says Ottawa will 'shift the burden' to importers to prove goods aren't made with forced labour

He said Bill C-35 should address Trump's concerns, as the administration mulls new tariffs over imports suspected of being made through forced labour.

According to the Canada Border Services Agency website, Canadian officials currently use risk-assessment processes and random selection to choose containers for inspection.

Under this new bill, Oliphant said, officials would be provided with a list of specific higher-risk products to inspect, and that the legislation would "shift the burden" to prove that suspected products were not made with forced labour onto the importer.

The bill also looks to put Canada in line with Mexico and with rules the European Union is currently crafting.

"We do not want dumping of cheaper materials, cheaper goods, into Canada that are produced with forced labour," Oliphant said.

The bill will require study and consultation before it is passed, and the House of Commons is expected to rise for the summer next week.

Conservative ethics critic Michael Barrett said he would examine the legislation but criticized the government for previously saying the existing system had already been weeding out products of slavery.

"They're introducing legislation, saying that it's going to do the very thing that they said they were already doing," he told reporters before Oliphant tabled the bill.

Oliphant insisted American pressure was "not the principal reason we are doing this now." He said the Liberals promised changes in late 2024 — shortly before then prime minister Justin Trudeau suspended Parliament and resigned.

Under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, Ottawa changed the wording of a customs law on forced labour rules in 2020 to prohibit imports of goods "that are mined, manufactured or produced wholly or in part by forced labour," putting Canadian tariffs in line with CUSMA rules.

The White House says there is little evidence that Canada has stepped up enforcement.

United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer's office recently recommended a 10 per cent forced labour tariff on multiple countries — including Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom — but said it would not apply to goods covered by CUSMA.

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Canada passed the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act in 2023 to strengthen the government's investigative powers. But advocates have long argued Canada does a poor job of enforcing existing rules meant to bar products made through slavery, a point Carney acknowledged on Thursday.

"We have a very strong framework and responsibilities — legal framework and standards and responsibilities. We've been less effective in fully enforcing those, and some of that relates to how the responsibilities are structured legally, some of it relates to resources," he told reporters.

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A recent report by Greer's office said the Canada Border Services Agency does not appear to publish official information about its enforcement efforts and cited numbers suggesting enforcement is weak.

CBSA has said it has intercepted and detained 50 shipments over concerns about forced labour since 2020. Two shipments were found to have been produced using forced labour — a 2024 shipment of textiles and one in 2025 containing frozen seafood.

On Thursday, Carney also his government is eliminating a watchdog position responsible for investigating allegations of human rights violations committed by Canadian companies abroad.

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The Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE), introduced under the Trudeau government, was tasked with investigating potential abuses, including the use of forced labour. Carney said the office hasn't been effective.

On March 25, however, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said the position "remains important" and suggested work was underway to fill the role. The UN Human Rights Committee has urged Ottawa to do so.

Also in March, the government faced criticism for not directly stating whether Uyghur forced labour is underway in China.

That month, Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said the Liberals are opposed to forced labour but are "focused on where we do agree" with China, adding Ottawa can discuss human rights behind closed doors with Beijing.

Beijing vehemently disputes claims that it is using Uyghurs for forced labour, arguing China has addressed terrorism threats while offering economic opportunities to minority populations.

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