Canada-China Relations committee  I'm not aware of the details of the law, but I did hear the previous witness, who said that this law will come online next year. I'm not sure how effective that will be. I guess it will depend on the positioning of the German government. I think that if you look at the German gov

Canada-China Relations committee  Well, I think the Chinese government is very good at co-opting businessmen who go to China. They're very good at rolling out the red carpet. I think a lot of investment funds follow some of the big leaders in the field, like BlackRock, which has been the sounding cry, really, f

Canada-China Relations committee  I think, first of all, that a piece of legislation mandating a regular blacklist should be published for investors, restricting investment in China—a summary piece of legislation that defines ESG and, in particular, mandates the CPPIB to integrate the ESG definition, as set out b

Canada-China Relations committee  I think you have to mandate that all the components of ESG have equal weighting, and that includes the S as well as the E and the G. I also think, in terms of social risk and social factors, that often companies think of gender diversity on their board. Do they celebrate LGBTQ+

Canada-China Relations committee  I think the regime the U.S. government is setting up would allow a provision that could apply to investment as well as goods. I think it might be a good example of something that Canada might be able to replicate as well. I recognize that the approach the Americans have taken is

Canada-China Relations committee  The process of ESG is that if there is a company that's suspected of being involved with forced labour, as an example, a Canadian pension fund would be expected to engage with that company to see how it could improve its record on forced labour—which, within the context of China

Canada-China Relations committee  I think it would certainly be simpler, although there might be an argument that for some sectors of the Chinese economy, investments would be low risk, such as perhaps investing in a food company or in real estate. I certainly take the point that when it comes to other sectors,

Canada-China Relations committee  Yes, I certainly think there needs to be parity when it comes to legislation looking at supply chains. They should also look at finance. I think you're right that we can't really talk about banning the import of goods from Xinjiang while at the same time we allow the financing of

Canada-China Relations committee  Yes, I would support that recommendation.

Canada-China Relations committee  I think this is where a blacklist would come into play, as some of the earlier witnesses mentioned. I think, to be honest, it's not a negative concept. Some of the investors we speak to think a blacklist would be very helpful for them. It would be a road map of the companies to a

Canada-China Relations committee  I would start by saying that these pension funds actually should already be investing, really, on the basis of Canadian values. That was the whole point behind the ESG criteria—upholding the climate, upholding human rights and social values, upholding good governance and the rule

Canada-China Relations committee  It would be a heavy weighting of pension funds that are looking at emerging markets. Often, the way the pensions are banded together.... Obviously, when you're younger—I guess I'm not that young, but kind of youngish—more of your pension will go to emerging market funds, because

Canada-China Relations committee  Thank you. I would like to thank members of this committee for inviting me here to give evidence today.

Canada-China Relations committee  Thank you. I would like to thank members of this committee for inviting me here to give evidence today. I sincerely hope that this inquiry can be part of the more honest conversation about the very real risks for ordinary Canadians of their pension funds being invested in Chines