An Act to amend the Customs Act and the Customs Tariff (forced labour and child labour)

Bill C-251 changes how Canada's customs rules deal with goods suspected of being made using forced labour or child labour. It amends the Customs Act so that customs officers must hold back (detain) certain imported goods until they are satisfied those goods are not the kind of goods already banned from import under the Customs Tariff because they were mined, manufactured, or produced using forced labour or child labour.

The bill also amends the Customs Tariff to create a new presumption: if goods come from a country or region that the government has formally designated as a "subject of concern," or from a company that has been placed on a new government-maintained list, those goods are automatically treated as if they were made with forced labour or child labour, and are therefore presumed prohibited from import. Importers can overcome this presumption, but only by proving to a customs officer that they properly traced their supply chain, took required supply-management steps, provided any required certification or information, and exercised proper diligence to confirm the goods weren't made with forced or child labour — and the officer must be satisfied by this evidence.

Finally, the bill sets out how countries/regions and companies get added to these watch lists. The Governor in Council (the federal cabinet) can designate a country or region as a "subject of concern" based on the Public Safety Minister's recommendation, after consulting the Labour Minister, if there are reasonable grounds to believe forced or child labour is used there. Similarly, companies can be placed on, renamed on, or removed from a list of entities using forced or child labour, based on similar reasonable-grounds tests, with the Public Safety Minister required to review each listed company's status every five years to decide if it should stay on the list.

This bill amends the Customs Act and Customs Tariff to let customs officers detain goods from designated countries or listed entities on a presumption that they were produced using forced labour or child labour, until importers rebut that presumption.

• Detention power — customs officers must detain goods covered by the new presumption until satisfied the goods are not prohibited from import; no time limit on detention is stated.
• Designation power — the Governor in Council (Cabinet) may, by order, designate a country or area as a "subject of concern," on the recommendation of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness after consulting the Minister of Labour, based on "reasonable grounds to believe" forced labour or child labour was used; the threshold is discretionary and not further defined.
• Listing power — the Governor in Council may establish a list and add entities to it on the same "reasonable grounds" standard; the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness may also unilaterally rename or delete entities by order without Governor in Council approval for name changes.
• Rebuttal burden on importers — importers must prove supply chain monitoring, provide certification or information, and demonstrate "due diligence" as prescribed, with the customs officer having final discretion to be "satisfied" the presumption is rebutted.
• Rule-making left to regulation — the specific content of supply chain tracing, certification procedures, timelines, due diligence standards, and information requirements are not set out in the bill itself but are left to future regulations made under the Customs Tariff.
• Oversight — listed entities are reviewed by the Minister every five years to decide whether grounds for listing still exist, with a recommendation to the Governor in Council on removal; no sunset clause applies to the designation or listing powers themselves, and no appeal mechanism for importers or listed entities is specified in the text.