Carney government sidesteps questions on forced labour in China

The Star had asked the Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office — not Sidhu’s — to clarify its position on the topic. 

The Star also asked the Prime Minister’s Office to address reports of forced labour in China specifically, and whether Carney accepted reports that automakers in China could be manufacturing electric vehicles with Chinese aluminum tied to forced labour practices in Xinjiang. 

The statement from Sidhu’s office did not mention China and said that “Canada has robust legal and regulatory measures in place to ensure that no item imported to Canada is produced through forced labour.

“Every good that enters the country is subject to rigorous import controls and screening. Canada is party to eight fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organization and Canada Border Services Agency is constantly on guard to identify and intercept any good that could be produced by forced labour,” the statement read.

Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong told the Star he could not understand why the Prime Minister’s Office would not be clearer.

“This is a file in which (Carney) has a special responsibility, and so it’s confounding why he hasn’t clarified his position on this,” Chong said Friday evening. 

The government’s response comes a day after a testy exchange overshadowed the House of Commons industry committee between Markham-Unionville MP Michael Ma and Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, a senior fellow at the University of Ottawa and expert on Canada-China relations. 

Ma, who crossed the floor from the Conservatives to Carney’s Liberals in December, rapidly peppered McCuaig-Johnston during a round of questioning, asking her whether she had personally witnessed forced labour practices in China or if she was relying on “hearsay.”

McCuaig-Johnston said she works “closely with Human Rights Watch, where researchers did witness it.” 

At the time of the exchange, the committee was referring to human rights abuses in Xinjiang, which China denies. A brief prepared by Global Affairs during Justin Trudeau‘s tenure as prime minister stated Canada was “deeply concerned about the nature and scale of human rights violations against Uyghurs by Chinese authorities under the pretext of countering extremism in Xinjiang.” In 2021, MPs voted in favour of a non-binding motion that accused Beijing of committing a “genocide” against China’s Uyghur minority, though Trudeau and his cabinet did not vote.

Facing questions from CBC after the Thursday meeting, Ma refused to say whether he believed forced labour was being carried out in China, and, in line with the statement from Sidhu’s office the following day, said he believed forced labour occurs “all over the world” rather than naming China directly.

After the committee meeting, Ma apologized for the “dismissive” nature of his comments, but stated he was not asking questions about Xinjiang, but rather Shenzhen, an economic hub in China where BYD, a top maker of electric vehicles, is headquartered. (The focus of the industry meeting was the federal government’s EV policies.)

The response from Sidhu’s office states that “Mr. Ma’s comments as reported are not reflective of the Government of Canada’s position on the incredibly serious issue of forced labour.”

Carney travelled to China with Ma in January, where the prime minister announced a deal with Beijing to allow tens of thousands of Chinese EVs into the Canadian market at a lower tariff rate, in exchange for China reducing its tariffs on Canadian agricultural products.

“It is disturbing and concerning that the Prime Minister and the Liberal government cannot clearly state that the (People’s Republic of China) has used Uyghurs as forced labour,” said Chong in an interview, after the Wellington—Halton Hills North MP penned a letter to Carney earlier in the day asking him to clarify his stance urgently.

“This is a serious question, the answer to which has significant consequences, not only on Canada’s position on international human rights, but also on Canada’s international trade. Canada is bound by international treaties to combat forced labour, including obligations under trade agreements, that, if Canada is found to be in violation of, could jeopardize access to the markets of our most important trading partners,” the letter read.

Chong also wrote in his letter that Carney’s position has implications for those in Canada’s Chinese community, who, he wrote, “have been subject to threats and intimidation from the PRC for the simple act of speaking out on these very issues.”