Lawyers urge federal ban on U.S. forced labour imports, cars built by prisoners

OTTAWA — Human rights lawyers are calling on Ottawa to ban American imports that stem from forced labour, specifically auto imports from Alabama.

The International Human Rights Program at the University of Toronto has submitted a detailed complaint to the Canada Border Services Agency asking it to block goods made with forced labour that are coming in from the United States.

The lawyers examined reports from government and citizen groups within the U.S. about prisoners being coerced into working on Hyundai and Genesis vehicles, and tracked these vehicles to Toronto dealerships.

The researchers say Ottawa must enforce its laws consistently to block products that stem from slavery and prison labour, regardless of their countries of origin.