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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 75

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 19, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Mr. Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, CPC)
  • May/19/22 8:35:19 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I will be sharing my time. My questions today will focus on procurement and human rights. The member for Scarborough—Guildwood, who is a member of the Liberal party, observed in the House yesterday that, “We have gone through a period of time in the last two or three years where we may have sourced goods which we, in other instances, may not or would not have sourced from dubious sources.” Does the minister agree with her colleague?
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Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Mr. Garnett Genuis
  • May/19/22 8:35:52 p.m.
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Madam Chair, that is zero for one in terms of answering the specific question I asked, which was whether she agreed with the comment from her colleague. More specifically, I wonder if the minister can share when the government first became aware of significant concerns around forced labour with Supermax.
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Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Mr. Garnett Genuis
  • May/19/22 8:36:12 p.m.
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Madam Chair, according to British solicitor Nusrat Uddin's comments to CBC earlier this year, Canadian government officials were briefed on concerns about Supermax prior to 2015. Is that accurate?
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Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Mr. Garnett Genuis
  • May/19/22 8:36:41 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it sounds like she is saying that this British solicitor's comments were inaccurate and we will want to follow up on that later. The hon. minister says the government found out about this in December 2020. When did the government actually end its contract with Supermax, and when was the last time it received supplies from Supermax?
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Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Mr. Garnett Genuis
  • May/19/22 8:37:15 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the minister said that the government first heard about these concerns in December 2020. Did the government immediately end shipments in December 2020?
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Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Mr. Garnett Genuis
  • May/19/22 8:37:38 p.m.
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Madam Chair, is the government still doing business with Sinopharm?
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Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Mr. Garnett Genuis
  • May/19/22 8:37:55 p.m.
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Madam Chair, is the minister concerned about allegations of forced labour against Sinopharm, and when did the minister become aware of those allegations?
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Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Mr. Garnett Genuis
  • May/19/22 8:38:20 p.m.
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Madam Chair, going back to Supermax, the British and American governments both discontinued purchases from Supermax long before the Canadian government did. The government claims that it only became aware of concerns about forced labour at Supermax after the Americans and the British had already discontinued purchases from Supermax. Why was the government not following the policies of our allies in this respect?
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Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Mr. Garnett Genuis
  • May/19/22 8:38:54 p.m.
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Madam Chair, if the U.S. and the British governments had discontinued purchases, and the minister says the Government of Canada was not even aware that there were allegations, how is it that we are so far behind our allies in terms of being aware of these concerns?
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Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Mr. Garnett Genuis
  • May/19/22 8:39:23 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it seems that the government should be listening to what our allies are doing and actually paying attention better to what is going on around the world. An independent analysis completed for the government last year by the University of Nottingham Rights Lab found that only five of 48 vendors had appropriate policies in place to mitigate risks around human trafficking and forced labour. Why do so few of our vendors have appropriate policies in place, and yet why have we only discontinued, as far as I am aware, one contract?
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Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Mr. Garnett Genuis
  • May/19/22 8:40:18 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the minister notes promises in mandate letters to bring forward future legislation. We do not have a timeline around that legislation, when it comes in, but meanwhile we are purchasing products from companies where our allies have already noticed and said that there is a problem with forced labour in their supply chain. Minister, that simply is not good enough. Does the government purchase any products at all that are produced in Xinjiang?
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Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Mr. Garnett Genuis
  • May/19/22 8:41:12 p.m.
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Madam Chair, there are provisions in contracts that allow the termination of contracts, and contracts are simply not being terminated. My last question was this: Does the government purchase any products that are produced in Xinjiang?
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Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Mr. Garnett Genuis
  • May/19/22 8:41:40 p.m.
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Madam Chair, again, that is not an answer, but on another question, does the government purchase any products produced by Nuctech, and has the government purchased any surveillance cameras or other security equipment made in China?
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Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Mr. Garnett Genuis
  • May/19/22 8:42:10 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to be very clear, because I am not just asking about embassies. I am asking in general, across government procurement. Has any part of the government purchased products produced by Nuctech or purchased any surveillance cameras or other security equipment made in China?
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Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Mr. Garnett Genuis
  • May/19/22 8:42:42 p.m.
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Madam Chair, does that include CBSA?
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Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Mr. Garnett Genuis
  • May/19/22 8:42:57 p.m.
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Madam Chair, that is the third time I have asked this question. Is any part of government procurement happening from Nuctech, and is any part of government purchasing surveillance cameras or security equipment made in China? I hope we get an accurate answer.
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