Hon. Julie Miville-Dechêne: I’d like to start by thanking you for this initiative, Senator Housakos. Like you, I think Canada should do more to help the Uighurs. That said, I would like to ask you a more specific question about your bill and compare it to the bill the U.S. passed in December.

In the United States, as in your bill, the importation of all goods manufactured in whole or in part in the province of Xinjiang is prohibited. However, the U.S. bill includes one important exception. It lifts the prohibition if the importing company is able to prove to customs officers that the goods were not manufactured using forced labour. In the United States, this bill was viewed as very aggressive, and it was the subject of intense debate, which led to this compromise of giving the importer a chance to defend itself with good arguments. Why don’t you try putting a clause to that effect in your bill? I understand that the existing legislation is complex and hasn’t been brought into effect. However, this is about reversing the burden of proof.

Senator Housakos: Thank you for the question, senator. First, I don’t want to copy the American law. I wanted this bill to be very strict.

As I said in my speech, I’m very open to looking at other options or amendments that could add something to the objectives of this bill. I’m very open if you want to propose an amendment so the bill can be studied and referred to the committee for study. The only problem is that, in my experience with the Chinese, they always find ways to bend the rules and circumvent the law.

For instance, I think they realized a few months ago that Canadians, Americans, the British and Australians are taking tough action. According to many sources, the Chinese are moving Uighurs from Xinjiang to other locations in China to again use them for forced labour. At the same time, they are clever enough to say that conditions are being put in place that will reduce the importation of products from Xinjiang.

I’m not entirely against your proposal. However, it’s important to remember that the Chinese government is very innovative when it comes to circumventing the laws of various countries and at various times.