International Trade Committee on June 18th, 2026

[Robert Brookfield]

I'm not an expert on American law. However, I can say that their legal and legislative system is different from ours.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

I know that. However, you said that we couldn't do this, so does that mean—

[Robert Brookfield]

We couldn't just copy what they do, because our legal system—

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Could you elaborate on this?

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Adam Chambers]

We will have to pick this up in the next round.

Thank you.

Mr. Kram, go ahead.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to all the witnesses for joining us today.

Article 23.6 of the existing CUSMA reads, in part, “each party shall prohibit the importation of goods into its territory from other sources produced in whole or in part by forced or compulsory labor, including forced or compulsory child labor.”

Given that Canada is going to be importing electric vehicles from China, do you expect this practice to be a significant challenge in the upcoming CUSMA negotiations?

[Lynn McDonald]

With respect to article 23.6, you're correct that that's the existing obligation on the parties to implement and enforce a forced labour ban. Canada has been clear that we feel we have met all of our obligations under the CUSMA. With respect to the potential for Chinese EVs, I can't speculate on how the U.S. or Mexico may approach that in the context of the CUSMA review.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Okay, but they're not going to say that all of a sudden it is okay to import goods made from child labour. I don't understand. If there is considerable evidence that automotive parts and automobiles are made with forced labour in China, and they're going to be coming to Canada, how could that not be a significant challenge during the CUSMA review?

[Sara Wilshaw]

It's important to underscore that this import ban applies to all products made in whole or in part with forced labour, not about a specific country. We wouldn't at this stage be saying that one product or one region.... We're not at the stage of having a list. At the point that we are at, it applies to all products. It's not about one specific country and not directly related to the issue that has been raised.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

In Bill C-35, which was tabled last month, it does refer to a list. Subclause 6(1) reads:

The Minister may, by regulation, establish a list of goods in respect of which there are reasonable grounds to suspect that they are produced wholly or in part by forced labour.

Are we expecting automobiles, EVs and automobile parts from these troubling regions of China to be included in the list in Bill C-35?

[Sara Wilshaw]

In terms of the process, at this time it would be premature to say what might be on that list. The bill was just tabled on Friday. It needs to go through the normal process. The regulations need to be developed and the list produced in due course.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

I have a report here from the U.S. Department of Labor from September 2024. I'd like to read a quote from that report:

In addition to manufacturing aluminum automotive parts, China processes a large percentage of other key inputs in the automotive industry. For example, China processes iron into steel, lithium and cobalt into battery-grade materials, and bauxite into aluminum. The U.S. Department of Labor specifically identifies electronics and lithium-ion batteries produced in China as automotive components that are produced with child or forced labor.

This is the U.S. Department of Labor. I can't imagine this not coming up in the CUSMA review.

Are we going to be putting a stop on the import of EVs from China once the CUSMA review is under way? I just don't understand how you reconcile the two. I'd appreciate it if you could shed some light on how that's going to work.

[Sara Wilshaw]

It's still premature to say what would and would not be on the list. At this point, we don't have a list to demonstrate what we're concerned about. However, it is not premature to say that the intention of the legislation is to prohibit the entry of all goods made, in whole or in part, with forced labour. It's not saying a specific at this time but all products that are made, in whole or in part, with forced labour.

The U.S. system, as I think my colleague mentioned, is their own and unique. We would take into account a number of pieces of research and evidence in formulating a list of goods and high-risk regions, but at this time, I can't say what would actually be on that list, at the end of the day.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Adam Chambers]

Thank you very much.

Just for the benefit of committee members, what's worked well in other committees is that if you have additional questions, you can submit them in writing. We can submit them to the officials later.

Madam Lapointe, you have an extra minute, because your colleague Mr. Ehsassi yielded that time.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for being here. You're giving us valuable information. It's helping us to better understand the situation.

How many other countries are in the process of adopting similar legislation that includes a public list of high‑risk goods and a reverse onus mechanism for importers bringing goods into Canada?

[Robert Brookfield]

I apologize, but I can't give you an exact figure at this time. However, I can tell you that, according to Employment and Social Development Canada, 35 countries are in the process of implementing similar legislative measures across the board. However, I can't give you more specific details.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

For these 35 countries, how far along is the implementation of their respective systems? How many of them have established public lists, as seems to be the goal?

[Robert Brookfield]

I don't have the answer right now, but we could check.

The United States obviously must have a list. Mexico has a system, but I don't know whether the list is public. The European Union countries are in the process of developing their system. However, I don't think that their list is public yet.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Okay. Thank you.

I know that you nevertheless brought up the United States a number of times. You said in particular that the United States has a good system, but that it's difficult to compare Canada with the United States. From a legislative standpoint, we're different, and so much the better.

Could you provide a more detailed explanation?

For example, what's the structure of the American legal framework for forced labour?

What's the difference between the enforcement of measures targeting high‑risk goods under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act and the enforcement of measures under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act of 2020?

Could you shed some light on this?

[Robert Brookfield]

Sorry, but Global Affairs Canada doesn't currently have expertise in these areas of American law. Perhaps my colleagues at Employment and Social Development Canada or experts in American law could shed some light on this for you.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Okay. Thank you.

I'll still ask you one more quick question.

How exactly does the United States Customs and Border Protection share data in practice? Does it regularly publish reports on seizures, broken down by type of goods? I know that my colleague spoke about bicycles earlier. How is the information broken down, and how can we access it?

In addition, can you name the top five countries whose goods have been seized on suspicion of forced labour? Sara Wilshaw said earlier that it wasn’t necessarily China, but rather various countries.

I would like you to elaborate on this.

[Graeme Hamilton]

Thank you for the question. I'll answer it in English, just to be clearer.

The U.S. CBP actually has a public website. I'm happy to provide the web link to the committee that allows the data to be searchable. You can search it by total value, by region and by commodity type. They update that website on a regular basis, specifically for forced labour. The CBP also publishes similar stats related to drugs and other commodities that they enforce. It's a pretty rich dataset that one can sort through to understand not only where the goods are coming from but also where they're being imported into from a port of entry perspective. We'll make sure that is provided to the committee members and they can have a look.

In terms of the top five countries, I've not gone through and sorted them from that particular perspective. However, I would say from discussions we've had with colleagues at Global Affairs and ESDC that we tend to see forced labour risks materialize more acutely in the types of industries that are very labour-intensive, such as the textile industry, agriculture, fishing, etc., and then some manufacturing processes as well. Those types of industries that rely heavily on human capital in order to create value or create products are typically where we end up seeing forced labour appearing most acutely.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

So you're looking at industries rather than countries, if I understand correctly.

[Graeme Hamilton]

Absolutely. That's right, yes.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

I'll get back to the American system, because everyone seems to say that it's a good system. There are differences between our system and the United States' system.

Compared to the American system, would it be accurate to say that the proposed Canadian approach provides a simpler and better integrated process that connects the list of high‑risk goods to the implementation of the legislation governing the Canada Border Services Agency?