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International Trade

During question period on international trade, the Conservative opposition leader repeatedly asked the government to ban goods made with forced labour from China’s Xinjiang region, saying Canadian imports of such products are far fewer than those blocked by the United States, and pressed the Prime Minister directly to condemn forced labour there, arguing the practice undercuts Canadian wages and jobs and linking it to the Prime Minister’s past business interests in China. Liberal ministers, including Anita Anand and Yasir Naqvi, replied that Canada has rigorous forced labour laws, that all incoming goods are screened and verified by the Canada Border Services Agency, that $600 million was allocated in the last budget to combat forced labour, and that strong labour protections are built into Canada’s trade negotiations, while also pointing to growth in Canadian exports.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .

Official text

14 statements

Pierre Poilievre

Conservative

Linked statement

“The government is not doing enough to stop products made with forced labour from coming into Canada from Xinjiang, China. The Americans blocked thousands of these shipments this year, while Canada has only blocked two in five years. Will the government ban all products from that region?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the question is for the Prime Minister. Obviously, American tariffs on Canada are wrong, but so is forced labour. The Liberal government refuses to crack down on forced labour products coming into our supply chain from the Xinjiang province in China. For example, in 2024 alone the Americans blocked 6,947 shipments of products originating in the Xinjiang province in order to stop forced labour. Here, the Liberal government stopped only two shipments in five years. Will the government ban all products coming from the Xinjiang province and end slavery once and for all?

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Anita Anand

Liberal
“We have strong laws against forced labour, and we check all goods entering Canada. We put 600 million dollars in last year's budget to fight forced labour. We also include strong worker rules in our trade deals.”

  • Government answer in Question Period

    Relevance 96 of 100

    Of this answer, 94% addressed the question that was asked.

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  • A repeated line

    “Canada has some of the most rigorous forced labour laws in the world.”

    Said 3 times by 3 members since June 3.

    Every time it was said
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, Canada has some of the most rigorous forced labour laws in the world. We condemn forced labour everywhere it exists, including in my meeting last Friday with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of China. Every good that enters this country is subject to rigorous import controls and screening. We allocated $600 million in last year’s budget to address forced labour. We prioritize the inclusion of comprehensive labour provisions in free trade agreements to promote international labour standards. We stand with workers everywhere—

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Pierre Poilievre

Conservative
“The government lets companies move Canadian jobs to countries that use forced labour. This hurts our workers and lowers their pay. The Prime Minister has not spoken out against slave labour and genocide in Xinjiang. I want him to condemn it today.”

  • Opposition question in Question Period

    Respect 76 of 100

    This statement targeted a person rather than their actions or views: “because of his corporate interests”.

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals announced $600 million to stop two shipments and they stand with workers everywhere in the world. Are they kidding? They are undermining Canadian wages by having multinationals take away Canadian jobs and give them to regimes that use forced labour and slavery. Now, Canadian workers are facing potential tariff threats that will compound the cost to Canada. The Prime Minister has never condemned the genocide and slavery in Xinjiang province because of his corporate interests. Will he stand up today and say that he is condemning that kind of forced labour in Xinjiang?

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Anita Anand

Liberal
“Canada will always protect workers' rights here and abroad. We spent $600 million last year and included worker protections in our trade deals, including in talks with China. At the same time, our exports grew by more than 17%.”

  • Government answer in Question Period

    Relevance 34 of 100

    None of this answer addressed the specific question that was asked.

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I want to underline that Canada will always protect the rights of workers within and outside this country. The $600 million allocated in last year’s budget was on top of a number of measures that we have taken in our negotiations, in our free trade agreements with other countries around the world, a point I emphasized last Friday when I spoke with China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. I want to say that our economy, at the same time, has grown by more than 17% in terms of our exports. We will build Canada—

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Pierre Poilievre

Conservative
“I want the Prime Minister to speak out against forced labour in Xinjiang, China. His company took a $200-million loan from a Chinese state bank, but he needs to put people ahead of his business interests.”

  • Opposition question in Question Period

    Respect 48 of 100

    This statement targeted a person rather than their actions or views: “tough issue for him because his company in China is seeking to expand its business”.

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the question was for the Prime Minister. I asked if he would stand in this House and condemn the forced labour practices by the regime in Beijing being carried out on people in Xinjiang province. I know this is a tough issue for him because his company in China is seeking to expand its business. His company took a $200-million loan from a Chinese state-backed bank, so he does not want to compromise those interests. Will he put people before profits, and stand up today and condemn forced labour in Xinjiang province, yes or no?

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Anita Anand

Liberal
“We strongly oppose forced labour anywhere in the world. We make sure our trade deals ban it, while we keep growing Canada's economy.”

  • Government answer in Question Period

    Clarity 30 of 100

    Much of this statement used imprecise wording, lacked details on timing or responsibility, or made broad claims without support.

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is on the front lines of our relationship with China and countries around the world. We wholeheartedly and emphatically condemn forced labour wherever it occurs. In addition, in our free trade negotiations with countries around the world, we underline and ensure that we are condemning forced labour. Finally, we will continue to grow the Canadian economy strong, not only concluding 20 agreements on the economy, security and defence worldwide, but also ensuring that we are responsibly—

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Pierre Poilievre

Conservative
“The Prime Minister will not speak out against forced labour in Xinjiang because he cares more about corporate profits than Canadian workers. Canadian workers cannot compete with forced labour. Will the Prime Minister ban goods from Xinjiang, yes or no?”

  • Opposition question in Question Period

    Respect 51 of 100

    This statement targeted a person rather than their actions or views: “he does not want to jeopardize his corporate profits, in which he is continually invested”.

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister refuses to stand up and condemn the forced labour in Xinjiang province because, of course, he does not want to jeopardize his corporate profits, in which he is continually invested, even though they come at the expense of Canadian workers. Canadian workers lose out when they have to compete with forced labour, and Canadian workers lose out when there are punitive tariffs as a result. I will give the Prime Minister one last chance: Put people before profit. Will the Prime Minister stand up and announce that he is going to ban shipments of any goods from Xinjiang province, which is renowned for forced labour, yes or no?

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Yasir Naqvi

Liberal
“Forced labour is unacceptable. We work hard to protect our supply chains and enforce strict laws to stop goods made with forced labour. We also include strong labour rules in our trade deals to protect workers in Canada and around the world.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, as the minister before me said, forced labour is absolutely unacceptable. That is why we are always working hard to ensure that we have our supply chain completely protected. That is why various departments within the Government of Canada, as per the strict laws we have in place, work all the time to ensure that we stop any shipments that are a result of forced labour. In fact, that is why, in all our trade agreements, we make sure that we have stringent labour provisions to uphold international labour standards. We will continue to do so, to make sure that we protect Canadian workers and workers abroad.

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Pierre Poilievre

Conservative
“The government is not doing enough to stop goods made with forced labour from entering Canada. The Americans have stopped thousands of these shipments, but Canada has only stopped two. When will the government ban products from Xinjiang?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, obviously, Donald Trump’s tariffs are unjustified and indefensible, but so is forced labour. The Liberal government has done nothing to protect Canadians from products made with slave labour. For example, the Americans, under Joe Biden, blocked 6,949 shipments of goods from the Xinjiang region. The Liberal government has blocked two. When will the Liberal government ban products from Xinjiang?

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Yasir Naqvi

Liberal
“Forced labour is wrong. The government is working to keep it out of our supply chains, and we are making strong labour rules a priority in our trade deals.”

  • Government answer in Question Period

    Relevance 46 of 100

    None of this answer addressed the specific question that was asked.

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  • Government answer in Question Period

    Clarity 6 of 100

    Much of this statement used imprecise wording, lacked details on timing or responsibility, or made broad claims without support.

    See full analysis
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, forced labour is unacceptable. We must ensure that our global supply chains are free of these kinds of abusive practices. We are working closely with the relevant minister and the entire government to reduce forced labour in the supply chain. This is also why we are making it a priority to have comprehensive labour provisions included in the free trade agreement, to promote international labour standards.

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Pierre Poilievre

Conservative
“Importing goods made with forced labour hurts Canadian workers' jobs and wages. It also causes American tariffs that hurt Canadians. When will the Prime Minister ban all products from Xinjiang?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the question was for the Prime Minister. We already know that Canadian workers lose out every time the country imports a product made with forced labour, because that reduces wages and takes jobs away from Canadians. Canadians are also losing out because of the U.S. tariffs on goods purchased from regions where forced labour is used. When will the Prime Minister finally take action to ban all products from the Xinjiang province?

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Yasir Naqvi

Liberal
“We check goods coming into Canada to stop products made with forced labour. Border agents track these items and report on them each year to protect workers.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, all goods entering the country are subject to import controls and rigorous verification processes. The Canada Border Services Agency conducts risk analyses to identify and intercept any goods that are likely to have been produced using forced labour, and it reports back to Parliament every year. We will protect Canada’s interests while standing up for high labour standards for all workers.

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Pierre Poilievre

Conservative
“The Prime Minister will not answer my question or speak out against slave labour because it hurts his rich corporate friends. His policies make big companies rich while Canadians suffer in a recession. I want him to change those policies today.”

  • Opposition question in Question Period

    Respect 89 of 100

    This statement targeted a person rather than their actions or views: “because it runs counter to his corporate interests”.

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Prime Minister was asked a direct question. He refuses to stand up, and he cannot even condemn forced labour and slavery, because it runs counter to his corporate interests. This is the old story with him. A small group of Liberal insiders, members of the club, multinational corporations, get fabulously rich, making everyone else terribly poor. While his corporate profits have gone up, and he is dodging his taxes on those profits, the Canadian people are suffering even more with the only recession in the G20. Will he stand up today and reverse those policies?

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Yasir Naqvi

Liberal
“Forced labour is unacceptable. We are working to keep our supply chain free of it. We put strict labour rules in our trade agreements and enforce our laws to protect workers in Canada and around the world.”

  • Government answer in Question Period

    Clarity 37 of 100

    Much of this statement used imprecise wording, lacked details on timing or responsibility, or made broad claims without support.

    See full analysis

  • Government answer in Question Period

    Relevance 100 of 100

    Of this answer, 100% addressed the question that was asked.

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, it is worth repeating that forced labour is completely unacceptable. We take all steps necessary to ensure that we keep our supply chain free from forced labour. We, in fact, put a lot of work and rigour into ensuring that, in all our trade agreements, we have stringent labour standards and provisions according to international labour standards. We will continue to do that work. We will continue to enforce our laws. We will continue to make sure that our supply chain is free of forced labour so that we can protect Canadian workers and workers abroad.

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