Gloves come off in trade war over imported hockey gear

Supremely Canadian tussle over classification of goalie gloves goes all the way to top court

Hockey is serious business in Canada, to the point that it took the nation’s top court to decide a dispute over imported goalie gloves.

The off-ice fight began when Quebec-based sporting goods dealer Igloo Vikski Inc. challenged the Canada Border Services Agency’s decision to classify the hockey equipment as “gloves, mittens and mitts.” Igloo Vikski sought a refund, claiming they should be classified as “other pieces of plastics,” which carry a lower duty. On Thursday, the Supreme Court upheld a trade tribunal ruling supporting the border agency in a ruling that also suggested everyone should just get back to playing hockey. The case brought together two views of Canada: one, that it’s a hockey-mad nation, and secondly, that high taxes are a long-running tradition.

While hockey remains Canada’s official winter sport, the government over the last decade has reduced customs duties and corporate taxes.

“The goaltender should strain to avoid being distracted by the question before the court in this appeal — being whether, for customs tariff classification purposes, he or she blocks and catches the puck with a ‘glove, mitten or mitt,’ or with an ‘article of plastic,’ ” Justice Russell Brown wrote on behalf of the majority.

The gloves were imported from 2003 to 2005.

The customs agency in an earlier proceeding sent gloves to a laboratory to reach an agreement that any Canadian school child would know, namely that “the goaltender blocker has padding material encased within the external surface of the glove consisting solely of plastics, while the goaltender catcher has padding materials encased within the external surface of the glove consisting of plastics and lesser amounts of textiles.”

Igloo-Vikski was purchased by Montreal-based Lanctot Ltée in 2007. Company officials didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment on the decision.

The case is Attorney General of Canada v. Igloo Vikski Inc., 36258, Supreme Court of Canada (Ottawa).