House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2021, with 54% of the vote.
Human Rights February 18th, 2021
Mr. Speaker, as we have stated repeatedly, we are gravely concerned about the allegations coming out of Xinjiang with respect to the treatment of Uighurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities.
We have urged the Chinese government to allow a group of international and impartial experts to examine the situation, and at the same time we are working with our international partners and putting together our expertise with respect to the serious allegations that have come out of China.
Foreign Affairs February 18th, 2021
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.
With respect to his very specific question about the Olympics, we have said many times that this decision is up to the International Olympic Committee, and our position has not changed.
Foreign Affairs February 18th, 2021
Mr. Speaker, Canada has had an interest in the Indo-Pacific area for trade, for example, our participation in the CPTPP. We are very interested in the ASEAN group of countries. We have a number of interests with respect to countries like India, South Korea, Japan and others in the southeast Asian region. It is natural for Canada, which is a trading nation, to want to develop those, and we will continue to do that in the years ahead.
Foreign Affairs February 18th, 2021
Mr. Speaker, as I said, we welcome the debate today. I participated in it and many other colleagues on both sides of the aisles are doing the same thing. We will see the outcome next week. I am not going to speculate about the outcome. It is totally hypothetical and we will see what happens.
Foreign Affairs February 18th, 2021
Mr. Speaker, we have welcomed the motion appropriately. It was time that this extremely important matter was debated. I am listening to the debate, and everyone is getting a chance to state their position.
We will see later, when the vote happens.
Human Rights February 18th, 2021
Mr. Speaker, I do not very much appreciate those very personal comments made against me as a person, but I will respond by saying that this government is very seized with the issue of the treatment of Uighurs and other minorities, and we are looking at this very carefully in concert with our international partners so that we get to the bottom of the very serious allegations that have been made against China with respect to the treatment of the Uighurs and other minorities. We will continue to do that with single-mindedness.
Human Rights February 18th, 2021
Mr. Speaker, we have been very, very clear from the beginning that we are very seriously concerned about the allegations that have been brought forward with respect to the treatment of Uighurs. We have demanded that the Government of China allow unfettered access to a group of experts to examine the situation, but in parallel, we are also working with our international partners to pool our expertise to best understand all of the allegations, most of them extremely credible, that have been made against the Chinese in their treatment of the Uighurs.
Business of Supply February 18th, 2021
Madam Speaker, I will answer the point generally by saying that the China of 1996 and even the China of 2016 is not the China of 2021, which is why our policies with respect to China, whether these apply to foreign investment, trade or human rights, is evolving.
As I have said on many occasions, we must coexist with China, and in some areas we will co-operate, but in some areas we will challenge them and in some areas we will compete with them. This is part of our evolving policies with respect to China, and in all matters, as times change, these can legitimately be reviewed.
Business of Supply February 18th, 2021
Madam Speaker, I would point out that earlier this week, the declaration against arbitrary detention in state-to-state relations, a Canadian initiative, was brought forward. We, as a country, feel that it is better for us to approach issues on a multilateral basis on certain issues, and that is why we are working in concert with international partners on this very legitimate point that has been brought up today in debate.
We are happy to participate in this debate on this extremely serious subject, but it is also important for Canada to work with its international partners to move this particular issue forward to arrive at a final determination.
Business of Supply February 18th, 2021
Madam Speaker, I very much appreciate the question from my colleague, which is complex and one that I assure him our government is seized with.
We are examining all of the evidence that has been provided, and we will continue to do that in concert with other countries. I believe that my colleague for Wellington—Halton Hills said that, yes, we should be working with other countries, and that is precisely what we are doing at the moment.
This file will not go away. We will continue to deepen our knowledge of exactly what is happening, and we will do it in partnership with other countries.