Prime Minister Mark Carney says Liberal MP Michael Ma has apologized for comments he made last week questioning forced labour in China, and would not say whether he will face consequences.
“Mr. Ma has apologized for his comments, as he should have,” Carney told reporters during a housing announcement with Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow on Monday, when specifically asked whether Ma will face repercussions.
“He’s recognized the seriousness of the issue in that apology,” Carney also said. “So, the first is to recognize, up front, the seriousness of the issue. He does.”
Carney added that Canada takes forced labour and child labour “incredibly seriously.”
Ma faced swift criticism last week after he appeared to dismiss the issue of forced labour in China, while questioning an expert witness during a meeting of the parliamentary industry and technology committee.
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Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, of the China Strategic Risks Institute, testified at committee in part about her concerns around Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) in Canada, citing national security concerns and because the aluminum used in EVs is made with Uyghur forced labour in Xinjiang.
In a statement last week, Ma said he “inadvertently came across as dismissive of the serious issue of forced labour.”
“To be clear, my line of questioning referred to auto manufacturing in Shenzhen, China, and not in Xinjiang,” he also said, adding he condemns forced labour “in all its forms.”
Carney said Ma remains a member of the Liberal caucus. He crossed the floor to the Liberals from the Conservatives in December.
Parts of China ‘higher risk’ for forced labour: Carney
Asked specifically whether he believes there is forced labour in China, Carney said he’s “followed this issue over the years, in China and elsewhere.”
“There is evidence of child labour around the world,” he said, adding companies have a requirement to know their suppliers and the conditions of their workers.
“They have a reporting obligation here in Canada, public reporting obligation here in Canada, for their supply chains,” he also said. “They have to comply with our laws, which obviously, to simplify them, are against any element of forced or child labour in any element of the supply chain of goods that are imported into this country.”
He said there are parts of China that are “higher risk” for forced and child labour, and “therefore (there) needs to be diligence.”
In a post to social media last week, the Chinese embassy in Canada pushed back on allegations of forced labour taking place in China, calling it a “blatant lie.”
Carney, meanwhile, partly in a bid to counter trade threats from the United States, has moved to reset relations with China after years of tension.
To that end, he became the first Canadian prime minister to travel to the Asian country in eight years in January.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne is also set to travel to China later this week.
Asked whether forced and child labour will be raised in conversations with Chinese officials during that trip, Carney said they would, as part of “a regular dialog around a series of economic and financial issues,” and “ensuring that those standards are in place.”
With files from CTV News’ Rachel Hanes
