“I want to make the Prime Minister look bad on trade and claim he supports forced labor. I want the government to ban products from Xinjiang to show we're against slavery.”
What they said. What they meant.
Plain-language translations from the House of Commons.
Recent debates
8 latest topics
Spring Economic Update 2026 Implementation Act
57 statements
Spring Economic Update 2026 Implementation Act
19 statements
Arab Heritage Month Act
5 statements
The Economy
15 statements
Government Priorities
2 statements
Government Priorities
2 statements
Housing
12 statements
The Environment
2 statements
Oral Questions
International Trade
During question period, the Conservatives pressed the Liberals on forced labor in China's Xinjiang province and U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods. The Liberals condemned forced labor and touted existing measures to screen imports, but the Prime Minister avoided directly answering questions about Xinjiang, diverting instead to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Conservatives accused the Liberals of undermining Canadian workers and wages for corporate gain.
“The other party spent a lot of money to stop some imports. That party cares more about companies than Canadian workers. Canadian jobs go to bad countries with slaves instead of Canadians. Now there could be more taxes on Canadians. The Prime Minister won't say the bad country is doing bad things because he cares about companies. Will the Prime Minister say the bad country is bad?”
“You are dodging my question because your company's profits depend on China. Will you condemn forced labor in Xinjiang or not?”
“You won't condemn forced labor in China because you're invested there. Stop protecting your profits. Say yes to banning shipments from Xinjiang where there's forced labor.”
“Donald Trump's tariffs are bad. Forced labor is bad too. The U.S. blocked many Xinjiang shipments. Canada only blocked two. The government should ban Xinjiang products.”
“The Prime Minister should ban all products from Xinjiang. Forced labor imports reduce wages and take jobs from Canadians. The U.S. puts tariffs on forced labor goods. The Prime Minister isn't doing enough.”
“Trudeau won't condemn forced labor and slavery because it goes against corporate interests. He helps Liberal insiders and multinational corporations get rich while everyone else suffers. Will he reverse his policies that caused Canada's recession?”