Carney to table legislation against forced labour after U.S. places new tariff on Canadian goods

Prime Minister Mark Carney says his government will soon introduce legislation to address forced labour in supply chains.

It’s a reaction to a new 10 per cent tariff slapped on Canada by the Trump administration, over claims Canada and other nations are not doing enough on the issue.

The Carney government says it supports the goals of the Trump administration — to crack down on forced labour and child labour in supply chains.

“Canada has a very strong legislative regime against forced labour and we want to use our influence to eliminate this practice,” said Carney.

Forced labour is any type of work a person may be forced to do against their will.

Carney says his government expected this new proposed tariff, and will introduce new legislation to shore up Canada’s protections against the practice in the coming weeks.

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“We are — have been preparing ways to reinforce the regime that we have,” said Carney.

Tuesday night, the U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer proposed a 10 per cent tariff on Canada and a few other nations, releasing a report claiming they are not doing enough to enforce their bans on forced labour.

Greer also proposed a 12.5 per cent tariff on many more countries, saying they have partial or no bans.

“The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labour is unacceptable,” said Greer. “This creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an unlevel playing field.”

60 total countries are targeted — part of the Trump administration’s larger global tariff agenda.

The new duties won’t apply to Canada-U.S.Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) compliant goods, and public hearings will be held in the U.S. before the proposals could come into effect.

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The proposal from Greer came just hours after he met with U.S.-Canada Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc in Washington.

“We had a positive meeting with Ambassador Greer,” said LeBlanc.

LeBlanc said he and Canada’s Chief Negotiator Janice Charette presented specific proposals to Greer and discussed longstanding issues.

“Around sectoral tariffs, on issues critical to the Canadian economy, automobiles, steel, aluminum, softwood lumber, of course,” said LeBlanc.

LeBlanc and Greer are expected to speak again next week.

There is still no timeline for when Canadian and U.S. representatives will begin the formal negotiations on the renewal of the CUSMA trade deal.

Canada and Mexico said Tuesday they both want the pact renewed for 16 years.

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