Prime Minister Mark Carney is navigating the fallout from comments made by new Liberal MP Michael Ma, who last week cast doubt on reports of forced labour in China.Patrick Doyle/Reuters
Prime Minister Mark Carney would not say when asked whether China’s treatment of the Uyghurs amounted to genocide – as the House of Commons declared several years ago – but acknowledged the Asian country was “rightly called out” for its conduct toward this minority in the past.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday at an unrelated news conference in Quebec, Mr. Carney was asked whether he agreed with the 2021 House of Commons motion on genocide.
He declined to say but noted “there are fundamental issues in terms of China’s treatment of the Uyghurs in the past, and they’ve been rightly called out.”
Mr. Carney is still navigating the fallout from comments from new Liberal MP Michael Ma who last week cast doubt on reports of forced labour in China. Mr. Ma, who defected from the opposition Conservatives in December, has since apologized for his statements.
China denies forced labour allegations after Liberal MP Michael Ma’s comments
Robyn Urback: It’s obvious where Mark Carney stands on forced labour in China
The 2021 Commons genocide declaration was roundly rejected by the Chinese government which has repeatedly dismissed reports by human rights groups and media organizations that Beijing is repressing the Uyghurs.
The Prime Minister is currently trying to expand business ties with China as he seeks new markets for Canadian products and more foreign investment in an effort to reduce reliance on the increasingly unreliable United States.
Asked whether he believes a genocide is continuing, Mr. Carney said “there are serious issues that remain” which is why, he said, he has raised human-rights issues with Chinese government officials.
Mr. Ma sparked a backlash last Thursday after he challenged the existence of forced labour in China during a meeting of the Commons industry committee, which is examining Mr. Carney’s deal to allow 49,000 Chinese-made electric vehicles into Canada at a low tariff rate.
Carney attends fundraiser co-hosted by MP who cast doubt on Chinese human rights abuses
Last week, Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, a senior fellow at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa, had told the Commons industry committee Thursday that electric vehicles (EV) are being built with Chinese aluminum products made by slave labourers in Xinjiang. A 2024 Human Rights Watch report also said major automakers including Tesla, BYD, GM, Toyota and Volkswagen are drawing aluminum from supply chains linked to Uyghur forced labour in Xinjiang.
Mr. Ma then asked Ms. McCuaig-Johnston: “Your claim about forced labour in Shenzhen – have you witnessed this yourself? Have you been there ever?”
“I’ve been to China many times since 1979,” she replied.
He continued: “Have you witnessed forced labour in Shenzhen? Yes or no?”
“So did you get that from hearsay?” he added.
Shenzhen is a major hub for Chinese EV manufacturing.
Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in Xinjiang, a region some call East Turkestan, have faced years of repression, forced internment and coerced labour under Beijing, according to rights groups. A 2022 report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said China has committed “serious human rights violations” there that may amount to “crimes against humanity.”