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Status and purpose

• Bill C-251 was introduced for first reading on October 21, 2025. It would amend the Customs Act and the Customs Tariff to address imports associated with forced labour or child labour.

Customs Act

• Customs officers would have to detain goods covered by the bill’s presumption until satisfied that their importation is not prohibited under section 136 of the Customs Tariff.

Customs Tariff

• Goods mined, manufactured or produced wholly or partly in a designated country or area, or by a listed entity, would be presumed to fall under the tariff description for goods made wholly or partly with forced or child labour.
• An importer could rebut that presumption only by meeting all specified conditions: carrying out prescribed supply-chain monitoring and management measures, providing prescribed certification or information, demonstrating prescribed due diligence, and satisfying the officer that the goods do not fall under that tariff description.
• The bill would allow regulations on supply-chain tracing and management, certification procedures and deadlines, importer diligence, and the information to be supplied and how and when to supply it.

Designations and review

• The Governor in Council could designate a country or area where there are reasonable grounds to believe goods are made wholly or partly using forced or child labour. This would require a recommendation from the public safety minister after consultation with the labour minister.
• The Governor in Council could also list entities on similar reasonable grounds, on the public safety minister’s recommendation. The minister could update listed names or remove an entity if satisfied it no longer uses forced or child labour.
• The public safety minister would have to review each entity’s listing five years after listing and every five years thereafter, and recommend whether it should remain listed.