INDU Committee Report

With foreign counterfeiting and intellectual property theft having a significant impact on our manufacturing industries, in particular the tool, die, and mould sectors as well as auto and aerospace sectors, additional measures are needed to intervene to halt the serious economic damage that is occurring. Therefore the NDP recommends,

That the Government of Canada establish as part of the Intellectual Property Crime Task Force, an enforcement division composed of RCMP and CBSA agents deployed to the five largest exporting countries to Canada that have significant counterfeiting and intellectual property (IP) theft occurring within them. This enforcement agency is to work with police and law enforcement personnel in those foreign countries to prevent the export of counterfeit and IP violating products from those countries into Canada.  The priority of the enforcement agency is to focus on industrial products from the auto, aerospace, transport, tool, die, and mould sectors.

To ensure the foreign countries cooperation in preventing and prosecuting counterfeiting and intellectual property theft within their own countries against corporations and individuals who are resident therein, the NDP recommends,

That the Government of Canada amend the appropriate legislation to allow for the banning of products involved in intellectual property and counterfeiting legal disputes, whether criminal or civil, until the conclusion of the legal action. Furthermore, that tariffs maybe placed on any of products of any country, which has a company or individual found to be manufacturing and exporting to Canada products which are either counterfeit or are the result of intellectual property theft. The tariffs imposed are to be set to recover not only the economic loss to Canadian companies and individuals but also to create a disincentive to counterfeiting and intellectual property theft within the foreign country that the company or individual originates. Finally, if the counterfeit product injures the health or safety of individuals, additional penalties maybe imposed on any product that originates from that foreign country where the counterfeit product originates. These penalties are to compensate the Canadian victims and potential victims. These penalties are in addition to the tariffs.