Tohti, McCuaig-Johnston Teich and Burton: How Canada can stand against forced labour in China

 How Canada can stand against forced labour in China

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-how-canada-can-stand-against-forced-labour-in-china/

Canada has introduced new, stronger legislation on forced labour in response to the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) Section 301 investigation, a pretext for President Donald Trump’s beggar-thy-neighbour tariffs. The USTR found that Canada was not adequately implementing its current legislation.

As a result, 10-per-cent tariffs are threatened on Canadian products not covered by USMCA.

This was an own goal for Canada. Until last year, we were ramping up implementation by developing more rigorous legislation and enforcement. But then the state visit to China was offered and the government started dropping all its forced labour tools.

Bureaucrats drafting new legislation put down their pens. Staff reviewing products from Xinjiang produced with forced labour were told their jobs were being eliminated. Some were redeployed to increasing trade with China. Customs notices directing companies to comply with current legislation dropped mentions of forced labour. Global Affairs Canada no longer mentioned it in its Departmental Plan.

Tohti, McCuaig-Johnston Teich and Burton: Canada is trying to stop importing goods made by forced labour. Here is why it is not working

 

Canada is trying to stop importing goods made by forced labour. Here is why it is not working  

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/canadas-new-forced-labour-bill-faces-chinas-legal-trap/article_1f15dbc9-f391-43f0-bc9f-59f77f767aa7.html

China did not wait for Canada to act. While Ottawa spent six years allowing goods made with Uyghur forced labour to move largely unhindered from Xinjiang into Canadian markets, Beijing was building a legal system designed to punish countries and companies that eventually might dare to act.

Beijing is betting that six years of near-total enforcement failure are a reliable guide to Ottawa’s future behaviour. C-35 is the chance to prove that bet wrong, but only if the Carney government is prepared to write the one word that every credible Uyghur forced labour policy requires: Xinjiang.

Burton and Therchin Podcast Episode 01: Understanding China's Ethnic Unity and Progress Law

 Episode 01: Understanding China's Ethnic Unity and Progress Law