CBSA says it acted in 'good faith' detaining solar panels in forced labour probe

A Canada Border Services Agency patch is seen on an officer in Calgary on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

The Canada Border Services Agency says it acted lawfully and in "good faith" when it detained nearly 50 containers of solar panels belonging to a Victoria, B.C., company over concerns they were made using forced labour.

Charge Solar Renewables Inc. sued the border agency in Federal Court in November 2024, alleging the detention of solar panels from China worth more than $5-million caused it to lose its "dominant market share."

The company's lawsuit says border guards detained the shipments that came through ports in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto between February and April 2024, but later lifted the detentions after determining the panels weren't prohibited under rules that came into force in 2020.

The border agency's statement of defence filed last month in Federal Court says the company "made the economic decision" to purchase and import the panels knowing they were subject to examination and possible detention.

The agency says it owes no "duty of care" to importers because the law doesn't oblige border guards "to consider the impacts of detention decisions on private business interests and their commercial relationships."

The statement of defence says there are "important policy reasons" against allowing the company's lawsuit for negligence because it "would create indeterminate liability" over each decision made by border officers regarding imported or exported goods.

The Charge Solar shipments were eventually released in June and July.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 6, 2025.