On Wednesday, the Canada Border Services Agency issued a warning that the Amazon name could cause consumers and retailers to think the company is “offering illegal goods.”
“If you’re a retailer that’s going to be doing business with a foreign company, if they are offering illegal goods, you should definitely not be doing that,” said Brian Gannon, chief executive officer of the Canadian Border Services Authority.
“You should be calling your local authorities.
If they’re not going to take action, they should be contacting your company to see if they have any other options.”
Gannon said the CBSA has seen reports of Amazon selling illegal goods and other things on its site, but they were not in compliance with the law.
“We’re not aware of any instances of this occurring,” he said.
“If we’re going to do that, we’re doing it right now.
We’ve got to keep doing it.
And we’ve got a lot of other things that we’re working on.”
In a statement, Amazon said it was “shocked” to learn of the CBS warning and that it has worked with the agency to address the issue.
“As a global leader in e-commerce, we are committed to working with government authorities around the world to protect the privacy and security of Canadians,” said the statement.
“We are in contact with the CBSC to address this matter.”
The agency says it has received reports of the Amazon brand being used on goods sold on the internet, and that the company has been working with the company to address concerns.
“If Amazon has information to suggest that they are providing goods or services that are illegal, they are welcome to reach out to the Canadian authorities, but we are notifying them of any such information,” said CBSA spokesperson Lisa Cernigli.
“The CBSA is in the process of investigating these allegations and will provide updates as they are developed.”CBC News has contacted Amazon for comment.