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Diplomacy
ChinaDiplomacy

Canada lawmakers to vote on accusing China of genocide against Uygurs in Xinjiang

  • Canadian Conservative Party leader said the country should be prepared to stand up for human rights, even at the expense of economic opportunity
  • It follows declarations by US Secretary of State Blinken and his predecessor Pompeo, who both said China had committed genocide in Xinjiang

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A housing compound in Yangisar, south of Kashgar, in China’s Xinjiang region. Canadian politicians are expected to vote on Monday whether to formally declare that China is committing genocide against more than 1 million Uygurs in Xinjiang. Photo: AFP
Associated Press
Canada’s main opposition party called on Thursday for the House of Commons to formally declare that China is committing genocide against more than 1 million Uygurs in the western Xinjiang region.
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Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole said a signal must be sent to the Chinese regime.

“On a matter like genocide, Canada needs to send a clear and unequivocal signal that we will stand up for human rights and the dignity of human rights, even if it means sacrificing some economic opportunity,” O’Toole said. “Our values are not for sale.”

The motion is non-binding on the federal government and it does not lay out what the next steps should be. A vote is expected on Monday. The main opposition parties support the motion and control the majority of seats in the House of Commons.

There was no immediate indication of what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party would do on the proposed declaration.
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After O’Toole urged the government this week to press the International Olympic Committee to move the 2022 Winter Olympics out of Beijing, Trudeau hesitated at using the word “genocide”, which he called an “extremely loaded” term.
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