Mr. Speaker, with regard to part (a), in Canada, the legislative authority for border services officers to give effect to the import prohibition of goods mined, manufactured or produced wholly or in part by forced labour is subsection 58(1) of the Customs Act, which is the authority to determine the tariff classification, together with tariff item 9897.00.00 of the customs tariff.
Unlike U.S. laws, the customs tariff does not provide authority to deem goods as prohibited prior to importation and without evidence. Nor does it provide for a company- or country-specific ban on goods having been mined, manufactured or produced with forced labour. Tariff classification determinations on imported goods are made on a case-by-case basis and are based on the available information at the time of importation. Goods are permitted entry if all import requirements are met, unless there is sufficient and appropriate information available to link each good with forced labour.
The CBSA is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the customs tariff. The labour program of Employment and Social Development Canada, or ESDC, provides support for the forced labour import prohibition by conducting research and analysis on the risk of forced labour for specific complaints or allegations. The CBSA may use this information and other sources of information to identify and intercept shipments containing goods suspected of being produced by forced labour.
With regard to part (b), CBSA records are based on advanced shipment information required by the reporting of imported goods regulations. The data that importers are legally obligated to submit to CBSA when importing commercial goods does not provide CBSA with full traceability through an importer’s supply chain. As such, while the CBSA has no records of imports by companies on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, or UFLPA, entity list, the agency cannot definitively confirm that there have not been imported goods linked to the listed companies.