Canadian Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said Friday the federal government is opposed to forced labour, a day after another Liberal MP cast doubt on China's labour practices.
On Thursday, MP Michael Ma apologized after appearing to question reports of human rights abuses in China while engaging with a witness at a parliamentary committee hearing earlier in the evening.
In a written statement, Ma said he regretted making a mistake by making remarks at the committee which "inadvertently came across as dismissive of the serious issue of forced labour."
He had asked an expert during the hearing on Thursday whether she'd seen forced labour with her own eyes. In his statement later, Ma pointed out he had referred to the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen and not Xinjiang, where the Communist government has been accused of widespread abuses.
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Speaking to reporters in Markham, Ont., on Friday, Hodgson deferred questions on whether Ma should remain in the party's caucus to Prime Minister Mark Carney, who did not hold a scheduled news conference during an event in Halifax on Friday.
"Michael has already commented to the press. He said that his views did not reflect the views of the Liberal party. He has apologized for those views," Hodgson told reporters when asked if Ma should remain in the Liberal caucus.
But Ma made no such acknowledgment in the apology posted to his social media, or in his statement to The Canadian Press. His statement, did however say he condemned forced labour "in all its forms."
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Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong published an open letter to Carney on Friday calling on the prime minister to "urgently" clarify his position on forced labour and the Uyghur minority in China.
"Your position on this matter also directly affects those here at home," Chong wrote.
"Canadians in the Chinese community have been subject to threats and intimidation from (the People's Republic of China) for the simple act of speaking out on these very issues. Many also worry about families still in the PRC who may face consequences or punishment from the government of the PRC."
The United Nations reported in 2022 that China had committed serious human rights violations in Xinjiang against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities that “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.”
A report issued that same year by Global Affairs Canada concluded China “is using otherwise legitimate programs for retraining and relocation of unemployed workers as instruments of a broader campaign of oppression, exploitation and indoctrination of the Uyghur Muslim population into Han (majority) Chinese culture.”
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