Canada’s Foreign Minister Anita Anand announced the introduction of a new law in the Federal Parliament that would further strengthen the existing legal framework to prevent goods made with forced labor from entering the Canadian market.
Bill C-35entitled “An Act Respecting the Prohibition of Importation of Goods Produced by Forced Labor” (the Act), would establish an independent legal framework in contrast to the current import prohibition provision Customs tariff This would in turn strengthen the existing ban on forced labor imports.
If passed, the bill would also authorize the secretary of state to create a list of high-risk items that “there is reasonable suspicion to have been produced using forced labor.” The high-risk goods are identified by region, company or individual. The law also requires importers of listed high-risk items to provide “enhanced supply chain tracking information” to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). If this does not happen, another provision of the law arises, according to which the importer’s goods that are classified as high-risk are “deemed” to be prohibited goods.
The bill would also authorize a customs officer designated by the CBSA president to detain imported goods for up to 90 days “or for such longer prescribed period” from the first day the goods are detained to determine whether the goods were manufactured, in whole or in part, using forced labor. The law contains additional provisions to improve coordination and information sharing among federal agencies to support enforcement and to establish a cost recovery model for determining that importers have imported goods produced using forced labor.
In support of the law, Anand said:
Canada will not tolerate the presence of goods produced using forced labor in our markets. This legislation strengthens our commitment to human rights and fair, transparent trade by giving us stronger tools to stop these goods at the border and protect the integrity of our supply chains. It also supports vulnerable workers and supports Canada in global efforts to eliminate forced labor from international trade.
Currently Canada, the USA and Mexico are the only countries in which there is a ban on the import of forced labor. Canada enacted the Supply Chains Act in 2024, which requires certain companies and federal institutions to submit annual reports detailing the measures taken to prevent or reduce the risk of the use of forced or child labor in their supply chains. With this new legislation, Canada hopes to complement its efforts to combat forced labor and promote transparency and accountability.
This bill comes amid ongoing global concerns about forced labor. Last month, Amnesty International published a report She alleged that tea workers on private properties in Sri Lanka were subjected to conditions that “could amount to forced labor” and called on the government to immediately launch criminal investigations and targeted inspections. A current US federal lawsuit represents forced labor claims by Filipino workers against U.S.-based construction companies that oversaw stadium projects for the World Cup in Qatar. In March, the Taiwanese Ministry of Labor announced issue new guidelines to help companies prevent forced labor in response to U.S. trade law enforcement actions and increasing international criticism of labor rights violations against the country’s migrant workers. An ILO report from 2024 found that forced labor in the private sector incurs annual costs Illegal profits of $236 billion per year.
