Thank you, Chairman Bartholomew. It's a pleasure to have you here.
Your government, across two administrations, has recognized the Uighur genocide. Our Parliament has also recognized the Uighur genocide, although our government has yet to. There's been, I know, much debate in the U.S. about strengthening supply chain measures.
In Canada, our system for preventing supply chain slavery—the use of forced labour in our supply chains—is essentially complaints-based. Our Border Services Agency adjudicates complaints when it receives them, but the mechanisms by which any investigation would be undertaken are still being worked out. It would be virtually impossible to conduct a meaningful investigation inside of China, and the new measures haven't led to any shipments being stopped.
By contrast, in the United States you have the Uyghur forced labor prevention act proposed by Representative McGovern, which was supported by a vote of 406 to 3 in the lower house and is now in the Senate. This bill would, as I'm sure you know, create a presumption that forced labour is involved in products coming out of Xinjiang, unless it can be proved otherwise.
What is your view on the Uyghur forced labor prevention act? Could you share a bit about why it has such strong bipartisan support and reflect on whether other countries should consider a similar model, recognizing the realities of a complaints-based system and the impossibility of it working effectively?