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.

Hyundai's Alabama branch insists it does not use forced labour and said in 2023 it stopped using a subsidiary that had employed child refugees to operate heavy equipment.

Washington has been pushing Canada to do more to weed out products of forced labour from countries such as China, and launched a probe in March that could be used to justify tariffs.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2026.