Canada seizes goods made with forced labour from China; MPs urge more action for Uyghurs

The Canadian government has seized goods from China it identified as being made with forced labour, the first Chinese shipment intercepted for this reason since federal law was toughened in 2020 to prohibit imports of items made under coercion.

In March, the Canada Border Services Agency told The Globe and Mail that, since the new rules came into force, it had not seized any imports from China that were made with forced labour.

But on Nov. 12, when The Globe asked again whether the CBSA had seized any Chinese shipments since the mid-2020 prohibition, the agency acknowledged one interception.

CBSA spokesperson Rebecca Purdy told The Globe customs officials had seized a shipment of women’s and children’s clothing that arrived in Quebec from China, on the belief that it was “manufactured or produced wholly or in part by forced labour.” The agency did not disclose the date of the seizure and said confidentiality rules prevented it from identifying the importer. It also said information was only available on interceptions up to Nov. 3...

This was excerpted from the 15 November 2021 edition of The Globe and Mail.