Canada‘s largest opposition party, the Conservative Party, has formally proposed that the House of Commons formally determine that the Chinese government’s oppressive policies against the Uighurs in Xinjiang are an act of “genocide“. It is reported that the bill has now received unanimous support from other opposition parties and is expected to be voted on and passed next week.
File photo: A Uighur protester protests China’s Xinjiang policy
The Canadian House of Commons debated the Conservatives’ motion that the Uighur people are being subjected to genocide by the Chinese Communist Party on the 18th and 19th. The Conservatives said that Canada has historically defended human rights and condemned South Africa’s apartheid policies before other Western countries, and that Canada should not shirk its responsibilities now.
The Conservatives said that members of the International Human Rights Commission of Parliament, regardless of party affiliation, determined last year that the Uighurs in Xinjiang were being subjected to genocide, but the Trudeau government failed to take active action. So the Conservatives decided to propose a bill that would show Canadian leadership in defending human rights.
Marc Garneau, the ruling Liberal foreign minister, said Canada is gravely concerned about the human rights situation in the Xinjiang region and that the abuses are appalling: “We have asked the Chinese government to allow independent international experts into the Xinjiang region to look at the human rights situation there. We will work with our international allies to gather facts on the ground, not single-handedly declare genocide.”
Garnett Genuis, the Conservative MP for International Development and Human Rights, resented the Liberals’ cavalier attitude: “The evidence is clear, but the Trudeau government is weakly looking for excuses and unwilling to stand up for itself. We know China is powerful, but Canadians are willing to show strength to support the Uighurs. Why isn’t the foreign minister brave enough to defend humanity?”
The motion has the support of the other three opposition parties – the NDP, the Greens and the Bloc Québécois. Jack Harris, the NDP MP for foreign affairs, said, “Canada must speak out and the entire international community must take it seriously and I hope the Prime Minister and the Liberal government will support this motion. The Chinese government’s move meets the definition of genocide and there is undeniable evidence.”
Earlier this week Quebecois caucus member Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe also called on Ottawa to take the lead in asking the International Olympic Committee to relocate the 2022 Winter Olympics, again with support from other opposition parties.
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