Joly won't comment on forced labour allegations in China, says Canada will 'always follow' UN findings

OTTAWA — Canada’s industry minister says the federal government will “always follow” findings from the United Nations when it comes to the issue of forced labour in China, as she declined to say directly whether she believed it was taking place herself.

Melanie Joly testified Monday before a parliamentary committee about Prime Minister Mark Carney’s policies toward electric vehicles, which Conservative MPs used to press the minister on the deal Canada struck with China earlier this year to allow a portion of Chinese-made electric vehicles to enter the market in exchange for Beijing reducing tariffs on products like canola seed.

While representatives from the country’s auto-sector have raised concerns about the competitive impacts of allowing heavily-subsidized Chinese-made electric vehicles to flow into Canada, others have pointed to reports from human rights groups about forced labour being used to make these vehicles.

Asked directly on Monday whether she believed there was forced labour in China, Joly told MPs “that’s a question that you should ask the minister of foreign affairs.”

She added the federal government was working with the United Nations, pointing to findings from its human rights commissioner that raised such concerns in a report.

Joly also said the vehicles Canada was eyeing were vehicles from China produced by companies such as Tesla, General Motors and Ford.

Asked a second time by Conservative MP Ted Falk about whether she believed forced labour was a practice taking place in China, the minister replied: “I’ve already stated my point of view on that.”

“My point of view is we will always follow what the UN is saying, and the UN was unequivocal.”

After underlining that she was no longer foreign affairs minister — a role she had held until after last year’s federal election — Joly said Canada stands against all forms of forced labour and that it has existing laws that do not tolerate such exploitation.

“You say you agree with the UN position and the UN position is that there is forced labour happening, especially among the Uygur people in China. Are you saying that you would agree with that statement,” Falk said.

“Listen,” Joly said.

“I agree with everything I’ve said in the past tense, so you know, now, I’m before you as minister of industry and as minister of industry my job is to protect autoworkers here,” adding that her role was “internally-focused.”

Back in March, Liberal MP Michael Ma apologized for questioning a retired former bureaucrat who appeared before the committee raising concerns about China’s forced labour practices in a way that cast doubt on those claims.

Margaret McCuaig-Johnston had cited a 2024 report by Human Rights Watch that “dozens of parts in each Chinese EV are made with aluminium from Uyghur forced labour,” which Ma at the time responded to by questioning whether she had witnessed such activities herself.

Carney himself has only said he has seen evidence of forced labour being used around the world, when asked specifically about whether he believed it was happening in China.

The prime minister has said Canadian companies were bound by laws to ensure child or forced labour were not part of the supply chains used to bring good into Canada.

“There are parts of China that are higher risk and therefore need to be diligence,” told reporters at a press conference back in March.

Under Canada’s deal with China, up to 49,000 Chinese-made electric vehicle would be allowed to enter Canada at a preferential tariff rate of 6.1 per cent, which is expected to increase to 70,000 in the years ahead, reversing the 100 per cent surtax former prime minister Justin Trudeau imposed back in 2024.

With files from Jordan Gowling

National Post

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