“I want to look like I care about stopping forced labor. Our government spent money on it. I want to say I'm doing something about the problem without taking the action the other side asked for.”
What they said. What they meant.
Plain-language translations from the House of Commons.
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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.
“I'm just going to say nice general words about how we care about workers everywhere. The $600 million we spent is just one of many things we're doing. I talked to China about it on Friday. Look how much our exports have grown! We will keep doing things to grow our economy.”
“I'm saying nice-sounding words about condemning forced labor. I'm not actually giving a yes-or-no answer to the question about putting people over profits or standing up to China.”
“Forced labor is bad. We're handling it. We're making trade deals with strict labor conditions. Trust us, we won't let shipments come from forced labor.”
“Forced labor is bad. The government wants to reduce it in supply chains. We will put labor rules in trade deals.”
“Canada already has import controls and checks for forced labor. The border agency reports to Parliament every year. We'll protect Canada's interests and stand up for high labor standards for all workers.”
“I want to repeat that I'm against forced labour. We try to keep supply chains free of it. We make sure our trade agreements have labour standards. We will keep enforcing these laws to protect Canadian workers and workers abroad.”