Mr. Speaker, the Customs Act only requires importers to identify the country of origin, for example, “China”, of their goods, not the region. The region where goods originate within a country is not a data element that is mandatory; importers do not have the obligation to report it. However, the CBSA can report that from January 1, 2024 to June 25, 2025, of the 34 shipments that have been intercepted for suspected ties to forced labour, goods contained in one of those shipments were subsequently determined to have been produced wholly or in part by forced labour and were originating from the Xinjiang region.
Establishing that goods have been produced by forced labour requires significant research, analysis and supporting information. CBSA works closely with the key government departments such as Employment and Social Development Canada and Global Affairs Canada to identify goods of concern related to forced labour. Canada also cooperates and exchanges information and best practices with US Customs and Border Protection related to the enforcement of the forced labour import ban.
When a shipment is detained, importers have the opportunity to provide information that will be analyzed by the CBSA in order to inform the final decision of the officer. The officer is then required to make a tariff classification determination on the imported goods, based on the information provided by the importers. If the officer determines that the goods were produced by forced labour, the officer will prohibit the goods from entering Canada.