Trade minister evasive on Xinjiang question
Ng won’t answer whether Chinese goods blocked
• Canada’s international trade minister on Monday would not provide details about whether the federal government has barred the flow of imported goods from China suspected of using forced labour, months after Ottawa introduced measures purportedly to stop the practice.
In a committee testimony, Minister Mary Ng declined to answer questions from a Conservative MP about how much, if any, imports from the Chinese region of Xinjiang Canadian authorities have intercepted since the Liberal government said it would be cracking down on the issue in January.
Ng offered no detail on the situation, and spoke only in generalities about the “comprehensive approach” the government has taken. A spokesperson for the minister did not provide updated information on the measures before National Post went to press.
Critics have questioned the Liberal government’s level of commitment to curbing the importation of cotton, tomatoes and other products from Xinjiang, saying the measures introduced earlier this year lack teeth and place too much onus on Canadian importers.
According to some accounts, China has detained up to one million Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in Xinjiang, some of whom have been forced into factory labour. End Uyghur Forced Labour, a coalition group, estimates that up to one in five cotton products like towels and clothing originates in the Xinjiang region. That group and others have called on Western allies to curb imports from the region.
In 2018, the Liberal government signed a treaty as part of the renegotiation of NAFTA that seeks to crack down on the importation of products made through coerced labour, which came into force mid-2020.
On Jan. 12 it announced yet more measures, some aimed specifically at China. They required Canadian companies to sign a declaration stating that they would not import products from the region known or suspected to be derived from coerced labour, and started a business advisory group to “caution” private companies about the worker situation in Xinjiang.
The announcement was made on the same day Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau assumed his new role, replacing François-philippe Champagne.
But critics say the measures did not go far enough, particularly because private companies do not have access to the information required to determine whether supply chains depend on forced labour. Chinese authorities, meanwhile, have dismissed claims about labour camps in Xinjiang.
“The measures introduced on Jan. 12 are not effective, they will not work,” said Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong.
“They did not put a lot of effort into thinking these measures through, nor implementing them.”
Chong has called on Canada to outright ban all imports of cotton and tomatoes from the region, arguing that border agents in Canada cannot be expected to distinguish products that use forced labour.
Late last year, former U.S. President Donald Trump blocked all imports of cotton from Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, a major producer in the region.
U.S. officials and some private companies have begun using new testing methods to determine whether their cotton inputs are derived from Xinjiang.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended his measures in March, claiming they would “help companies to protect themselves” from procuring forced-labour products.
“We have acted in a way that is giving extra support and ability for Canadian companies to ensure they are not being involved in questionable supply chains over there.”
Last month, a report by the Toronto Star found that Canada had imported nearly 400 shipments of goods from the Xinjiang region that U.S. authorities allege came from Chinese manufacturers that use forced Uyghur labour. A separate report by the Globe and Mail pointed out that online retailers in Canada have continued to import shipments of towels, clothing and other products that are advertised as made in Xinjiang.