Tax & Trade Blog

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TEMU & ALIEXPRESS PLEDGE TO HEALTH CANADA

MARKETPLACES JOINING PLEDGE IS GOOD NEWS FOR DIRECT SELLERS

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Health Canada’s Canadian Product Safety Pledge (the “Safety Pledge”), which we have previously discussed here, continues to expand, with online marketplaces Temu Canada and AliExpress now joining Amazon Canada and eBay Canada as signatories.

The Safety Pledge is a voluntary compliance initiative aimed at increasing product safety for consumer products and cosmetics available to Canadians online. By signing the Safety Pledge, Temu Canada and AliExpress have committed to taking 14 preventative and corrective actions intended to strengthen the safety of products sold through their platforms.

Background

Health Canada launched the Safety Pledge back on September 28, 2023, as a new initiative in its broader efforts to increase consumer product safety. The Safety Pledge followed in the footsteps of similar pledges developed in the EU, Australia, Japan and South Korea.

At the time the Safety Pledge was launched, Amazon Canada and eBay Canada were the initial signatories. As it stands now, Temu Canada and AliExpress have joined on as signatories, meaning four of the largest online marketplaces in the world are committed to the Safety Pledge.

This development is significant given the growing role that such online marketplaces play in facilitating sales in the Canadian consumer products and cosmetics market. For businesses complying with Health Canada’s onerous requirements with respect to Natural Health Products (“NHPs”) – in particular the Direct Selling Industry – Temu Canada and AliExpress’s commitment to the Safety Pledge should be welcome news!

Responsibilities

The Safety Pledge requires signatories to commit to 14 preventative and corrective actions that support product safety online, which are detailed in Health Canada’s “Guidance for Signatories” webpage.

The preventative and corrective actions are grouped into four categories:

1. Detection and prevention of the sale of unsafe products;
2. Cooperation with Health Canada;
3. Raising of product safety awareness amongst sellers; and
4. Empowerment of consumers on product safety issues.

Key commitments in the Safety Pledge include: (1) performing internal compliance audits/projects and take swift action to remove from sale products identified as unsafe (commitment 3); and (2) removing a recalled, prohibited or non-compliant product from sale within two business days of being informed by Health Canada that the product is recalled, prohibited or non-compliant (commitment 8).

Takeaways

With two of the world’s largest online marketplaces signing onto Health Canada’s Safety Pledge, Health Canada has significantly expanded its ability to crackdown on non-compliant products. This should also free up consumer dollars for Health Canada-compliant Direct Sellers and should be welcomed news for the Direct Selling Industry. 

For help with Direct Selling Matters, please click here.

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CUSTOMS VALUATION & STEEL IMPORTS

GETTING VALUE FOR DUTY RIGHT IN THE STEEL INDUSTRY

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The US-Canada trade dispute created a trade environment that makes proper customs valuation a critical issue for businesses in the steel industry. In particular, getting the value for duty correct (and avoiding costly assessments by the CBSA and US CBP) is critically important when one considers that ordinary customs duties, surtaxes, special tariffs, and anti-dumping duties could potentially apply depending on the steel imports in question.

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BAKERY GETS ANTI-DUMPING DUTIES RELIEF

CANADIAN REFINED SUGAR SHORTAGE LEADS TO SUCCESSFUL REMISSION!

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Canadian Anti-Dumping Duties (“ADDs”) apply on a variety of goods from numerous countries and are often set at extremely high rates to protect domestic Canadian producers of like goods.

But what happens when Canadian suppliers cannot provide the products needed to maintain manufacturing operations due to industry shortages, and importers are forced to source from countries subject to ADDs?

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PRIVILEGE AT RISK IN CRA RFI PROCEEDINGS?

FEDERAL COURT DECLINES PRIVILEGE REVIEW & ORDERS PRODUCTION TO CRA

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As discussed in our review of Federal Court’s (“FC”) 2025 pair of decisions in Shopify here and here, the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) has judicial means to compel information from taxpayers through Requests for Information (“RFI”). These powers are usually subject to important limits, including solicitor-client privilege.

However, a recent decision from the FC shows that asserting privilege may not be enough to protect documents from disclosure. In Canada v. KPMG Canada LLP, 2026 FC 793, the FC considered a compliance application under section 231.7 of the Income Tax Act (“ITA”) – for which a parallel mechanism exists under section 289.1 of the Excise Tax Act (“ETA”) – and granted an order compelling production of more than 900 documents over which privilege was asserted.

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CUSTOMS VALUATION & RELATED PARTY PRICING

IT’S THE 1990’S ALL OVER AGAIN! CUSTOMS VALUATION RULES REIGN

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The new tariff environment in 2025 and 2026 has put a premium on getting the “big three” declarations correct when it comes to customs importations. These are: tariff classification, origin, and value for duty.

In this Customs 101 Series Report, we review the basics of customs valuation where goods are being bought from, and imported between, related parties.

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加拿大延长附加税措施

财政部确认将延长钢铁附加税及相关减免措施

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CANADA EXTENDING SURTAX REGIMES

DOF CONFIRMS EXTENSIONS INCOMING ON STEEL SURTAXES & RELATED RELIEF

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加拿大财政部（“DOF”）近日发布新闻稿，确认加拿大将延长若干钢铁附加税措施及针对进口钢铁产品的横向关税减免措施。延长这些措施的目的是为了“保护钢铁工人和行业免受钢铁贸易转移的影响”并“为生产商和进口商提供商业可预测性和更长期的确定性”。

在本期《钢铁行业法律评论》中，我们将介绍哪些附加税措施及税款减免类别预计将在近期获得延长。

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铝产品附加税法律评论

加拿大针对中国铝产品实施多项附加税

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Aluminum Surtax Report

Multiple Canadian Surtaxes Target Chinese Aluminum

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与我们此前在此处和此处介绍过的加拿大钢铁附加税制度类似，加拿大针对进口铝产品也实施了一系列附加税。具体来说，中国原产的铝产品是若干附加税措施的主要目标之一。这一点其实并不令人意外，因为中国是全球最大的铝生产国之一，并常被称为全球铝产业的“重心”所在（中国目前铝产量占全球的60%以上）。

在本期《海关与贸易法律评论》中，我们将介绍加拿大针对铝产品的附加税制度，并讨论加拿大《特别进口措施法》（“SIMA”）下同样影响铝产品进口的若干反倾销及反补贴税（“ADCVD”）规则。

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GST/HST REPRIEVE FOR TRAILING COMMISSIONS

CRA DELAYS GST/HST ENFORCEMENT ON MUTUAL FUND TRAILING COMMISSIONS

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As we have blogged here, the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) previously announced that mutual fund trailing commissions paid by mutual fund managers to licensed dealers — and by dealers to their agents — would become taxable effective July 1, 2026.

However, in May 2026, through an updated GST/HST Notice 344, the CRA delayed enforcement of its new administrative position to January 1, 2028. This is a welcome development for mutual fund managers, dealers, and advisors, but industry participants should use the transition period to prepare for the new GST/HST treatment.

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SOLICITOR-CLIENT PRIVILEGE CAN BE LOST!

ONCA FINDS “DEEMED WAIVER” IN SUBSTANCE OF PLEADINGS

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Solicitor-client privilege generally entitles clients to seek and obtain legal advice without fear that those communications will later be disclosed – a foundational doctrine in the Canadian legal system.

However, a recent case from the Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) shows that in some cases, privilege may be lost where a party relies on its understanding of its legal position in its court pleadings – even without expressly referring to the legal advice it has received.

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JURISDICTION IN TAX DISPUTES TRICKY

INTERPRETATION OF APPEAL PROVISIONS CAN BE A COMPLICATED TASK!

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We have previously written about jurisdictional issues between the Tax Court of Canada (“TCC”) and Provincial Superior Courts here. A recent decision of the TCC – Desjardins v. the King, 2026 CCI 109 [Desjardins] – further illustrates the tricky nature of jurisdiction in tax disputes and that getting the forum correct is not a simple task.

In this update to our Tax Appeal Series on jurisdiction in tax disputes, we review the Desjardins decision with a view to highlighting the complicated task of statutory interpretation and its intersection with jurisdiction in tax disputes.

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DRAFT FORCED LABOUR BAN

CANADA TAKING STEPS TO APPEASE UNITED STATES & AVOID TARIFFS

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Our firm has recently written on Canada’s forced labour laws here and here. In a further update to Canada’s legislative regime designed to combat forced labour, Bill C-35 was introduced on June 12, 2026, with the aim of prohibiting the importation of goods produced by forced labour (the “Bill C-35”).

In this report, we review the political background that gave rise to this draft forced labour legislation and outline its contents.

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ALUMINUM SURTAX REPORT

MULTIPLE CANADIAN SURTAXES TARGET CHINESE ALUMINUM

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Like Canada’s steel surtax regime, which we have reported on here and here, Canada also implements a series of surtaxes aimed at imported aluminum goods. In particular, aluminum goods of Chinese origin are a primary target of certain surtaxes – and that might be expected given that China is among the world’s top aluminum manufacturers – and often referred to as the World’s center of gravity in aluminum (currently accounting for over 60% of overall production).

In this Customs & Trade Report, we review Canada’s surtax regime with respect to aluminum products, and some special Anti-Dumping & Countervailing duties (“ADCVD”) rules also impacting aluminum imports under Canada’s Special Import Measures Act (“SIMA”).

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STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS IN TAX AUDITS

WHEN THE FOUR-YEAR RULE DOES - AND DOES NOT - PROTECT YOU

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When it comes to Tax Audits, most Tax Auditors — whether from the federal Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) or provincial counterparts auditing for tobacco, fuel or other provincial compliance matters —operate within a four-year general limitation period.

In this Tax Audits Series Report, we review the general statute of limitations rules applicable to tax audits, as well as the key exceptions that allow Tax Auditors to reassess beyond that four-year period.

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CBSA: NO PROVISIONAL DUTIES ON AUSTRIAN OCTG

AN UNUSUAL NO-DUTY RESULT AFTER PRELIMINARY DUMPING DETERMINATION

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On May 4, 2026, the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) released a notice of its preliminary determination of dumping in respect of Oil and Gas Well Casing 6 originating in or exported from Austria (the “Subject Goods”).

Notably, despite determining an estimated margin of dumping of 22.6% for Voestalpine Tubulars GmbH & Co KG, the CBSA has decided NOT to impose provisional duties on imports of the Subject Goods at this stage of the investigation.

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STRICTER FORCED-LABOUR REGIME AHEAD?

CANADA TO STRENGTHEN FORCED LABOUR REGIME UNDER U.S. TARIFF PRESSURE

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Forced-labour compliance has been a growing issue for Canadian importers for several years.  While Canada already has import restrictions on forced-labour products in place, the federal government is now looking to strengthen that regime further — this time under U.S. tariff pressure.

On June 2, 2026, the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced that Canada had failed to effectively enforce prohibitions on goods made with forced labour.  Accordingly, the USTR has proposed an additional 10% tariff on goods from Canada.

In response, Canada has indicated that new legislation will soon be introduced to make that regime even stronger.  For importers, this is a clear signal that the forced-labour rules may become stricter.

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TCC POWERLESS OVER CRA COLLECTIONS

CRA FREE TO GARNISH UNREMITTED GST/HST - EVEN WITH TCC APPEAL PENDING

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In the recent Tax Court of Canada (“TCC”) decision Harris v. The King, 2026 TCC 89 (“Harris”), a taxpayer assessed for unremitted GST/HST learned the hard way about the Canada Revenue Agency’s (“CRA”) extremely broad Collection Rights.

In this Tax Audits Series we review the Harris decision and the key differences it highlights between the CRA’s ability to collect GST/HST debts and Income Tax debts – and why it demonstrates that retaining Experienced Tax Counsel at the front-end of the audit process can help avoid harsh collections action later on.

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NEW CRA GUIDANCE ON PROVINCE OF SUPPLY

CRA’S POLICIES ON PROVINCE OF SUPPLY RULES NOW FOUND IN NEW D-MEMO SERIES

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Determining the province in which a supply occurs is a fundamental requirement for GST/HST compliance, because it dictates the applicable tax rate: 5% GST, 13% GST/HST in Ontario, 14% GST/HST in Nova Scotia, or 15% GST/HST in the remaining Atlantic provinces.

The rules for determining the provincial place of supply have not changed, but the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) recently updated its applicable published guidance on these rules, meaning there are now new sources to be consulted when dealing with these issues.

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DIRECTORS’ LIABILITY FOR UNREMITTED GST/HST

RESIGNING AS DIRECTOR TO AVOID CORPORATE INDIRECT TAX LIABILITY A TRICKY TASK

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The GST/HST framework under the Excise Tax Act (“ETA”), as with other indirect tax regimes (like federal and provincial alcohol, tobacco and vaping taxes) includes “directors’ liability” provisions that are triggered when the corporation does not have the money to pay an assessed amount. Most of these systems have “statutory limitation rules” and “due diligence defences” which may limit liability, but these rules are extremely tricky to apply in practice.

We review these in a two-part series here, with reference to the helpful recent case Stevens v. The King, 2026 TCC 76 (“Stevens”), which revolves around this directors’ liability framework.

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THE DUE DILIGENCE DEFENCE & DIRECTORS’ LIABILITY

PROVING DUE DILIGENCE TO AVOID DIRECTORS’ GST/HST LIABILITY NO EASY FEAT!

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The GST/HST framework under the Excise Tax Act (“ETA”), as with other indirect tax regimes (like federal and provincial alcohol, tobacco and vaping taxes) includes “directors’ liability” provisions that are triggered when the corporation does not have the money to pay an assessed amount. Most of these systems have “due diligence defences” and “statutory limitation rules” which may limit a director’s liability, but these rules are tricky to apply in practice.

We review these rules in a two-part series, with reference to the recent case Stevens v. The King, 2026 TCC 76 (“Stevens”), which revolves around this directors’ liability framework.

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UNCLAIMED GST ITCs ALLOWED ON REASSESSMENT

TCC CONFIRMS CRA MUST ACCOUNT FOR UNCLAIMED CARRIED-FORWARD ITCs

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In a long-running GST/HST issue, the question has been whether the Minister’s obligation to “audit to net tax” requires CRA to take into account ALL unclaimed Input Tax Credits (“ITCs”) carried forward to a particular reporting period under audit. In the past, CRA maintained that its obligation under section 296(2) of the Excise Tax Act (“ETA”) only required it to allow unclaimed ITCs for the particular reporting period under audit and not any that may have then remained unclaimed from prior periods.

In a seismic decision of Justice Visser of the Tax Court of Canada ("TCC"), the TCC has now answered that question in favour of all Canadian GST registrants — a decision which we review below.