OTTAWA: New border controls meant to curb imports of counterfeit goods into Canada have had little impact, newly released figures suggest.
In the three years since the Combatting Counterfeit Products Act came into force, custom officers have detained just 48 shipments an average of 16 each year.
Statistics obtained by CBC News under the Access to Information Act also show most of the suspect goods eventually were released when the cases failed to move forward.
The Canadian numbers compare poorly with the United States which last year saw more than 34,000 seizures of alleged counterfeit goods — and with the European Union, where 63,000 shipments were seized in 2016,
The issue of counterfeit goods in Canada is a major irritant in the trading relationship with the United States, which as recently as January cited lax enforcement by its northern neighbour.
industry minister James Moore said the new law would create an “effective protection regime at our borders.”
“Criminals will get the message: Canada is not open to your kind of business,” he said in 2014, shortly before the legislation came into force.
But the Americans immediately found fault with the new regime, noting it does not allow Canada’s customs officers to seize counterfeit goods transiting through Canada from foreign manufacturers into U.S. and other markets.
