Bill C-35: An Act respecting the prohibition of the importation of goods produced by forced labour

Tabled in the House of Commons, October 19, 2026

Explanatory Note

Section 4.2 of the Department of Justice Act requires the Minister of Justice to prepare a Charter Statement for every government bill to help inform public and Parliamentary debate on government bills. One of the Minister of Justice’s most important responsibilities is to examine legislation for inconsistency with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [“the Charter”]. By tabling a Charter Statement, the Minister is sharing some of the key considerations that informed the review of a bill for inconsistency with the Charter. A Statement identifies Charter rights and freedoms that may potentially be engaged by a bill and provides a brief explanation of the nature of any engagement, in light of the measures being proposed.

A Charter Statement also identifies potential justifications for any limits a bill may impose on Charter rights and freedoms. Section 1 of the Charter provides that rights and freedoms may be subject to reasonable limits if those limits are prescribed by law and demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. This means that Parliament may enact laws that limit Charter rights and freedoms. The Charter will be violated only where a limit is not demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic society.

A Charter Statement is intended to provide legal information to the public and Parliament on a bill’s potential effects on rights and freedoms that are neither trivial nor too speculative. It is not intended to be a comprehensive overview of all conceivable Charter considerations. Additional considerations relevant to the constitutionality of a bill may also arise in the course of Parliamentary study and amendment of a bill. A Statement is not a legal opinion on the constitutionality of a bill.

Charter Considerations

The Minister of Justice has examined Bill C-35, An Act respecting the prohibition of the importation of goods produced by forced labour, for any inconsistency with the Charter pursuant to his obligation under section 4.1 of the Department of Justice Act. This review involved consideration of the objectives and features of the bill.

What follows is a non-exhaustive discussion of the ways in which Bill C-35 potentially engages the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Charter. It is presented to assist in informing the public and Parliamentary debate on the bill. It does not include an exhaustive description of the entire bill, but rather focuses on those elements relevant for the purposes of a Charter Statement.

Overview

The bill would enact An Act respecting the prohibition of the importation of goods produced by forced labour, which would prohibit the importation of goods produced by forced labour. For the purpose of the bill, forced labour means all work or service which is obtained from any person under the threat of a penalty and for which the person has not offered themselves voluntarily. Certain exceptions include: work of a purely military character required as compulsory military service; normal civic obligations; work or service as a consequence of a conviction in a court of law, carried out under the supervision of a public authority; work required in cases of emergency, such as wars or natural calamities; and minor communal services in the direct interest of the community involved.

The Act would authorize the Minister of Foreign Affairs to establish a list of goods where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that they are produced by forced labour. The Act would provide that a person importing goods on this list must provide the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), on request of a customs officer, with certain required information, failing which the goods would be deemed to be prohibited from importation.

Section 8 of the Charter

A number of measures in the bill could have potential effects under section 8 of the Charter. Section 8 of the Charter protects against “unreasonable” searches and seizures. The purpose of section 8 is to protect individuals against unreasonable intrusions upon their privacy. A search or seizure that intrudes upon a reasonable expectation of privacy will be reasonable if it is authorized by a law, the law itself is reasonable in the sense of striking an appropriate balance between privacy interests and the state interest being pursued, and it is carried out in a reasonable manner.

Collection of information – List of Goods

The Act would authorize the sharing of information between the Minister of Foreign Affairs and certain other Ministers, an officer or employee of the CBSA, or any other person prescribed by regulations for the purposes of establishing a list of goods where there are reasonable grounds to suspect they are produced by forced labour. This information collection power has the potential to interfere with privacy interests and may engage section 8 of the Charter.

The following considerations support the consistency of this provision with section 8. Information could only be shared for the purpose of creating a list of goods where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that they are produced from forced labour, which would assist in advancing the objectives of the Act. Privacy interests are reduced in the regulatory and administrative contexts and particularly in the border control context. The authority to disclose information is discretionary and would need to be exercised in accordance with the Charter.

Requirement to provide information to a Customs Officer

The Act would also include a requirement that any person who imports goods set out in the previously mentioned list of goods suspected of being produced by forced labour must, on request of a customs officer, provide the information set out in regulations to the CBSA. Failure to provide this information would result in the goods being deemed to be prohibited from importation. The collection of this information has the potential to interfere with privacy interests and so may engage section 8 of the Charter.

The following considerations support the consistency of the proposed provisions with section 8 of the Charter. Statutory powers to require relevant information to be provided for regulatory or administrative purposes in a border context, rather than for the purpose of investigating criminal offences, have been upheld as reasonable under section 8. Any regulations that prescribe the specific information that may be required would also need to comply with the Charter.