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  "description": "Deal struck during Carney’s Beijing visit raises questions about compliance with Canada’s forced labour laws.",
  "path": "/blanchet-calls-out-ottawas-ev-deal-with-beijing-over-uyghur-forced-labour-concerns/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-15T18:02:54.000Z",
  "site": "https://provincialtimes.ca",
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  "textContent": "**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.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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_.**\n\nUnder 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.**\n\n## Subscribe for issues and perspectives that mainstream outlets often ignore\n\nWe bring insights, analysis, and news that challenge the status quo.\n\nSubscribe\n\nEmail sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.\n\n> “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**.”\n\nBlanchet 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.\n\nThe Bloc goes as far as saying that such legislation would not have passed without their support and that of other opposition voices.\n\nIndependent 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.\n\nAluminum 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.\"\n\nFor 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.\n\nThis 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.\n\n> “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.”\n\nThe 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.**\n\n## Tired of seeing important stories swept under the rug by the right-wing establishment media?\n\nSubscribe and get the full picture. Stay updated, stay informed, and join a community that values truth and transparency. Subscribe to The Provincial Times for free to receive new stories and support our work!\n\nSubscribe\n\nEmail sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.\n\nDid you like this article? Consider a small donation.",
  "title": "Blanchet calls out Ottawa’s EV deal with Beijing over Uyghur forced labour concerns",
  "updatedAt": "2026-06-15T18:02:54.939Z"
}