Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan for raising what I think we both believe to be a very important issue. We speak on it regularly, he and I and others, at the Canada-China committee.
As he knows well from that work, Canada is indeed alarmed by the human rights situation of the Uighurs and other Turkic ethnic minority groups in China. This was expressed most recently as last night by Ambassador Dominic Barton at the committee's meeting.
The nature and scale of the abuses by Chinese authorities of Uighurs under the pretext of countering extremism are deeply disturbing to us. Canada remains troubled by the mass arbitrary detentions, religious persecution, repressive surveillance, allegations of torture, mistreatment, forced labour and mass arbitrary separation of children from their parents, among other abuses.
These actions by the Chinese government are contrary to its own constitution, are in violation of its international human rights obligations and are inconsistent with the United Nations global counter-terrorism strategy. Our government has made its concerns known publicly, including in multilateral fora, and privately through diplomatic representations with Chinese authorities whenever we get the opportunity.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs has raised this issue with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, at their bilateral meetings, including the June 2019 G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Japan. The most recent meeting was in Rome this past August. The minister also raised the issue directly with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, during a meeting with her in Geneva in August of this year.
Canada has made several statements at the UN, including at the United Nations General Assembly's Third Committee, where we joined 38 other countries in co-signing a joint statement on human rights in Xinjiang and Hong Kong on October 6, 2020. In June of this year, during the 44th session of the HRC, Canada and 27 other countries signed a joint statement on the human rights situation in Xinjiang.
In these statements and others, we repeatedly and jointly, working multilaterally because that is most effective, called for immediate, meaningful and unfettered access to Xinjiang for independent observers, including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and her office, and relevant special procedure mandate holders. Most recently, the trade commissioner service has updated it guidance for businesses on the risk of doing business in China, including risks related to human rights abuses and forced labour. Ensuring companies adhere to responsible business practices is essential for managing social, reputational, legal and economic risks.
Canada is committed to engaging bilaterally with China and working alongside our partners to advocate for the human rights of Uighurs and other Turkic ethnic groups in China. We will not leave any stone unturned. We will continue to work in close collaboration with our allies. We will continue to push for this issue to be investigated through an international independent body and for impartial experts to access the region so they can see the situation first-hand and report back evidence.
I assure everyone that the promotion, protection and respect of human rights are core priorities of Canada's foreign policy. Canada will continue to raise its concerns about the human rights situation in China. We will continue to call on China to live up to its international obligations, as well as its own—