Yves-François Blanchet says the Liberal government's new quota for Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) leaves too much room for components made with forced Uyghur labour to enter Canada undetected.
The Bloc Québécois leader made the comments as Ottawa moves ahead with a tariff-rate quota that allows up to 49,000 Chinese-made EVs into the country each year at the standard 6.1% tariff rate.
The arrangement, struck by Prime Minister Mark Carney during a January visit to Beijing, was presented as a way to secure lower Chinese tariffs on Canadian canola and other farm products while giving consumers access to more affordable EVs.
Under existing legislation, importers must ensure goods are not produced wholly or in part with forced labour. A new bill tabled earlier this month aims to strengthen that prohibition by allowing cabinet to draw up a list of high-risk goods, regions, or entities. For items on that list, importers would face a heavier burden to prove compliance with Canadian forced labour laws.
“The government will adopt in cabinet a decree that establishes a list of objects that will be covered by the law,” Blanchet wrote in a statement on social media. “All should be covered. Cars must be on the targeted list. One can fear, however, that in order not to displease China, all of this is a smokescreen and that the list, if and when it comes, will be harmless and will not include Chinese EVs.”
Blanchet and Bloc MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe attended the World Uyghur Congress in Berlin earlier this year, where Blanchet delivered a speech on forced labour in East Turkestan. The Bloc has pressed the forced labour file for years, including during debates that led to the 2023 supply chain transparency law.
The Bloc goes as far as saying that such legislation would not have passed without their support and that of other opposition voices.
Independent investigations, including a major report by Sheffield Hallam University, have documented links between parts of China's electric vehicle supply chain and state-sponsored labour transfer programs in Xinjiang.
Aluminum used in vehicle bodies and certain battery materials have drawn particular scrutiny. Chinese authorities reject the allegations of mistreatment of Uyghur Muslims, describing the programs as "voluntary vocational training."
For now, the administrative notices governing the new EV quota focus on tariff compliance, safety standards, and origin rules. They do not contain specific references to forced labour verification.
This gap leaves enforcement dependent on whether Chinese EVs or their key components are added to any high-risk list under Bill C-35. Blanchet acknowledged the progress represented by Canada's forced labour rules but urged caution.
“Let us salute a law that would not have existed without us, but let us be wary of experts who confuse people by saying one thing to better do the exact opposite,” he wrote. “Let us be optimistic all the same.”
The Carney Liberals have said the new legislation will give border officials better tools to target suspect shipments while protecting legitimate trade. How quickly—and how broadly—any high-risk list is applied to vehicles from China will determine whether or not Blanchet's concerns are addressed in practice.
