Innovating Canada
Julia Kuzeljevich
Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs, CIFFA
CIFFA’s federal advocacy agenda focuses on border modernization, labour reform, and strategic investments to improve Canada’s trade competitiveness.
CIFFA is the national voice of Canada’s freight forwarding, customs brokerage, freight brokerage, drayage trucking, warehousing, and logistics industry. Representing more than 14,000 employees across 532 member companies, CIFFA’s members manage approximately 80 per cent of Canada’s import and export trade, making the association a key stakeholder in trade facilitation, border operations, transportation policy, labour relations, and supply chain resilience. CIFFA’s associate members include air, marine, rail, and truck carriers, transportation law firms, technology firms, and cargo insurance providers, giving the association a unique perspective across the entire supply chain ecosystem.
As the “voice of Canada’s supply chain,” CIFFA maintains an active advocacy program focused on addressing operational barriers, improving trade competitiveness, and strengthening Canada’s transportation network. Through continuous engagement with members, government departments, regulators, and parliamentarians, CIFFA develops practical, industry-driven recommendations on issues affecting the movement of goods domestically and internationally.
Advancing customs and border modernization
A significant aspect of CIFFA’s recent advocacy has focused on modernizing Canada’s trade and customs infrastructure. During a series of ministerial and departmental meetings on Parliament Hill, CIFFA met with senior officials from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Public Safety Canada, Transport Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Global Affairs Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), and members of Parliament and the Senate.
Discussions centred on persistent customs system outages and delays, the need for federal investment in aging digital infrastructure, border modernization initiatives, trade diversification, transportation efficiency, labour stability, and the development of a national supply chain strategy.
Building a national trade single window
Among CIFFA’s key policy objectives is the establishment of a National Trade Single Window Initiative, a long-term project designed to streamline information sharing and regulatory interactions across government agencies involved in international trade. CIFFA is advocating for federal support for Phase 1 of this initiative, which would assess requirements and define a roadmap for implementation.
The association is also calling for strategic investments in CBSA’s legacy customs systems to improve reliability, reduce disruptions, and better support Canada’s trade diversification objectives.
Labour reform and budget priorities
Labour policy has become another major area of focus. CIFFA has submitted recommendations and formal briefs to parliamentary and senate committees concerning labour relations, transportation disruptions, wage misclassification through the Driver Inc. model, and the use of Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code.
Additionally, on August 24, Minister of Jobs and Families Patty Hajdu launched the Transportation and Supply Chain Workforce Alliance to be led by Trucking HR Canada and CIFFA. The Alliance brings together employers, educators, labour organizations, Indigenous partners, and others to identify workforce challenges and develop coordinated solutions.
For the 2026 Federal Budget Consultation, CIFFA has recommended four priorities: investment in CBSA digital infrastructure, support for a National Trade Single Window Initiative, labour relations and workforce development reforms, and an extension of the temporary federal fuel excise tax suspension. Together, these recommendations reflect CIFFA’s overarching goal of building a more efficient, competitive, resilient, and sustainable Canadian supply chain while supporting economic growth and trade prosperity for all Canadians.
Visit ciffa.com to read more about our association and its three pillars of membership, education, and advocacy.
