No products made with forced labour seized by Canadian border guards since import ban in mid-2020

March 31, 2021

Canada’s border guards have not seized any imports made with forced labour since the federal government changed customs legislation nearly nine months ago to prohibit such goods from entering the country.

Ottawa amended the Customs Tariff Act on July 1 to bar imports of goods made with coerced labour. But The Globe and Mail reported this week that Canadians can purchase bath towels, quilts and clothes through online retailers such as Amazon and eBay that are advertised as made with cotton from China’s Xinjiang region. Human-rights activists and academics say the crop should be assumed to be the product of forced labour.

Critics say the ease with which consumers can purchase Xinjiang cotton products calls into question the commitment countries such as Canada have made to stop imports of goods made with forced labour.

A spokeswoman for Canada Border Services Agency said this week that there have been no seizures of products since mid-2020 when the forced-labour prohibition was introduced...

This was excerpted from the 31 March 2021 edition of The Globe and Mail.

Topic(s)

International Trade and Border Management

Information source

Canadian News Channel

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