CBC | Top Stories News
· collected 2026-08-25 · by Rochelle Raveendran
The owner of a Pickering-based golf trolley company, Joseph McLuckie, is facing a $183,000 bill due to a federal Chinese EV tariff, despite his products being unrelated to cars or electric vehicles. The tariff was intended to level the playing field for Canadian workers in the auto industry, but it appears that McLuckie's golf trolleys were mistakenly classified under its broader category. A shipment of 330 golf trolleys from China received a standard 6.1% import tariff initially, but was later reclassified and slapped with a 100% surtax. McLuckie believes this is an "unintended consequence" of the tariff and is preparing to appeal the decision with his lawyer arguing that golf trolleys are not motor vehicles.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-25,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
A federal tariff targeted Chinese EVs.
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tariff → target → EVs
But a Pickering golf trolley company is facing a $183K bill
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company → face → bill
Owner says his company is an 'unintended consequence' of now defunct Chinese Surtax Order
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company → say → Order
A Pickering, Ont., business owner who sells golf trolleys says he’s being unfairly taxed under a now-defunct federal tariff intended for Chinese EVs.
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he → sell → EVs
JPSM Golf designs and sells remote-controlled electric golf trolleys that carry players’ golf bags while they walk the course.
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they → design → course
The company received a shipment of 330 trolleys from China in April 2025.
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company → receive → April
At the time, the trolleys were subject to Canada’s standard 6.1 per cent import tariff, and the company paid just over $19,000.
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company → pay → 19,000
But this past May, owner Joseph McLuckie received a letter from the Canadian Border Security Agency (CBSA), telling him the shipment had been reviewed and his trolleys had been assigned to a different tariff classification.
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trolleys → receive → classification
That reclassification meant the trolleys were subject to the China Surtax Order — a federal tariff that took effect in October 2024 and slapped a 100 per cent surtax on Chinese EVs, along with “electric and certain hybrid passenger automobiles, trucks, buses, and delivery vans."
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that → mean → automobiles
McLuckie now must pay $182,883.95, including interest and GST.
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McLuckie → pay → interest
“This has taken time off my life because of the stress and the sleepless nights … and just wondering what's going to happen next,” he said.
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he → take → stress
He said he’s at a loss as to why his golf trolleys are being included in a tariff that targeted Chinese EVs and intended to protect Canada’s auto industry.
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that → say → industry
“Let's go outside with one of my trolleys, and let's park next to an electric vehicle and let's ask the public: what do these two things have in common?” he said.
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he → let → what
Unintended consequence of tariff, owner says
When the surtax order was announced in 2024, the government said in a news release the tariff was intended “to level the playing field for Canadian workers.”
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tariff → say → workers
In addition to EVs, the order also covered broader tariff classifications, including “motor vehicles for the transport of goods – other with only electric motor for propulsion.”
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order → cover → propulsion
That is the classification the CBSA applied to the trolleys in May, making them subject to the 100 per cent surtax.
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them → apply → surtax
Previously, the trolleys were classified under “motor vehicles for the transport of goods – other.”
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trolleys → classify → goods
The government repealed the China Surtax Order effective March 2026, but it still applies to shipments during the period that it was active, the Department of Finance confirmed in an email.
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Department → repeal → email
McLuckie said he believes the tariff was never intended to apply to products like his golf trolleys.
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tariff → say → trolleys
He said he doesn’t know how he’ll keep his business afloat with the new cost, and may need to consider job cuts for his six employees.
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he → say → employees
Wheelbarrows are considered vehicles: CBSA response
McLuckie is preparing to appeal the CBSA’s decision.
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McLuckie → consider → decision
Prior to that process, JPSM Golf’s lawyer, Greg Kanargelidis, sent the CBSA a written submission, which argued in part that golf trolleys are not motor vehicles.
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trolleys → send → part
In a response on July 7, the CBSA wrote the golf trolleys are "undoubtedly" considered motor vehicles, since they use an electric motor to move and transport goods.
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they → write → goods
Vehicles don’t need to have a driver’s position, seat or carry passengers to be classified a vehicle, wrote Juliana Leung, a senior trade compliance officer with the CBSA.
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Leung → need → CBSA
She added that traditional, non-electric wheelbarrows are also considered vehicles under the Canadian customs tariff.
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wheelbarrows → add → tariff
The CBSA told CBC News in a statement that it couldn’t comment on specific cases.
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it → tell → cases
The agency administers surtaxes “based on the legal wording of individual surtax order,” spokesperson Luke Reimer said in an email.
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Reimer → administer → email
Alongside the CBSA appeal, McLuckie has also filed a remission request with the federal government.
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McLuckie → file → government
Remission orders provide full or partial relief from federal tax.
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orders → provide → tax
Kanargelidis said remissions are discretionary, meaning the Department of Finance has to agree that a remission is in the public interest.
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remission → say → interest
He said he believes the federal government has been dealing with an influx of remission applications due to tariffs.
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government → say → tariffs
The Department of Finance has received over 180 requests for remission since the China Surtax Order took effect, and has granted five remission orders, spokesperson Benoit Mayrand said in an email.
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Mayrand → receive → email
He said the department is currently assessing another 30 requests and expects to advance a sixth remission order this fall, but did not provide details on that order.
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department → say → order
The government assesses each remission request in consultation with domestic producers “to determine whether the goods are in short supply in the Canadian market, cannot reasonably be sourced from non-Chinese suppliers, and whether other exceptional circumstances exist that adversely affect the Canadian economy,” he wrote.
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he → assess → economy
