Mr. Speaker, there has been a great deal of discussion in recent days about the genocide of Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims in China. The evidence of that genocide could not be clearer, and I look forward to continuing to make arguments about this issue and calling for recognition by the government of that genocide and an appropriate response.
However, today I am speaking following a specific question that I asked about the Canada pension plan investments made in Chinese military affiliated tech companies that are playing a significant role in the surveillance, mass detention and, yes, genocide of Uighurs.
One of the particular characteristics of the Uighur genocide is its high degree of technological sophistication and the use of the latest technologies to screen, track, control, suppress and otherwise violate the rights of Uighurs. These technological tools are deployed to facilitate the internment and population suppression of Uighurs through measures that include a systemic campaign of sexual violence.
Certain companies that are in some sense private but are also very much state-affiliated are developing the technology for this genocide. People are sitting in office towers making investment decisions to maximize their profits and those of their shareholders by tasking researchers to find ways of better tracking and controlling other human beings.
The Canada pension plan invests money around the world with the goal of maximizing return for Canadian investors. It has important work to do in this respect. However, I would firmly contend that its only considerations should not financial risk or financial return. During the tenure of the current government, our pension dollars have been invested in Dahua and Hikvision, two of the companies that are working closely with the Chinese government and supporting its horrific operations in East Turkestan.
We are not just talking about building components or tools that could be used in this context. We are talking about ongoing collaboration to facilitate the customization and deployment of this technology as part of this genocide.
When these issues have been raised in the past, the government has either ignored the question or defended the investment choices of the CPP Investment Board. When this was first raised in the House, the member for Louis-Hébert said, on behalf of the government, “I simply want to remind my colleague that the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board operates independently, at arms' length from the government, and we expect it to make wise investments in the interest of Canadians and Canadian pensioners.”
Frankly, I expect better from the government than to support these investments or to shrug them off. Considerations must include Canadian values as well as Canadian interests.
While the Conservatives oppose efforts by politicians to micromanage these investments, there must be some minimum moral standards. Those standards should involve clear and unambiguous criteria that exclude investments that violate international law and that involve deep and fundamental violations of international human rights.
I expect and hope for better from the CPP Investment Board, but to be fair to the board, while I want to see minimum moral standards, the board operates within a legislative framework set by politicians. Politicians have to set those minimum standards. They easily could, but they have not.
I would like to ask the government this again. Very specifically, what plans does it have to ensure that Canadian pension investment dollars are never again complicit in acts of genocide?