CBSA Claims it acted in ‘Good Faith’ while detaining solar panels during forced labour investigation

January 6, 2025 TruthUSA

The Canada Border Services Agency maintains that it acted within the law and in “good faith” when it detained almost 50 containers of solar panels owned by a company in Victoria, B.C., due to concerns about potential forced labor in their production.

Solar Renewables Inc. sued the border agency in Federal Court in November 2024, claiming that the detention of over $5 million worth of solar panels from China caused them to lose their dominant market position.

The company’s legal action states that border officers detained the shipments passing through ports in Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto between February and April 2024 but later released them when it was determined that the panels did not violate the rules implemented in 2020.

In its defense filed in Federal Court last month, the border agency argues that the company consciously decided to purchase and import the panels despite knowing they could be subject to examination and potential detention.

The agency asserts that it has no obligation to protect importers since the law doesn’t require border officers to consider the impact of detention decisions on private business interests and commercial relationships.

The defense statement also cites “significant policy reasons” against allowing the negligence lawsuit because it would create ambiguous liability for each decision made by border officers regarding imported or exported goods.