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OTTAWA — Unknown actors are using bogus certificates to smuggle Canadian meat into China, Trade Minister Jim Carr said on Wednesday, a day after Beijing halted beef and pork imports citing falsified paperwork.

China, which has already blocked imports of Canadian canola seed and product from three pork plants, said on Tuesday it wanted Ottawa to halt all meat shipments after “counterfeit” veterinary health documents were discovered. Canadian officials confirmed they had found inauthentic certificates.

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“Somebody is trying to use the Canadian brand to move product into the Chinese market,” said Trade Minister Jim Carr, telling reporters the government did not know whether the meat shipments in question had actually come from Canada.

“There’s an investigation going forward and we’re taking it seriously and working very hard to get to the bottom of it because I don’t know why this is happening, in whose interest this could be.”