Hodgson defers questions on Michael Ma to Prime Minister Mark Carney

OTTAWA — Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said Friday the federal government is opposed to forced labour, a day after another Liberal MP cast doubt on China’s labour practices.

On Thursday, MP Michael Ma apologized after appearing to question reports of human rights abuses in China while engaging with a witness at a parliamentary committee hearing earlier in the evening.

In a written statement, Ma said he regretted making a mistake by making remarks at the committee which “inadvertently came across as dismissive of the serious issue of forced labour.”

He had asked an expert during the hearing on Thursday whether she’d seen forced labour with her own eyes. In his statement later, Ma pointed out he had referred to the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen and not Xinjiang, where the Communist government has been accused of widespread abuses.

Speaking to reporters in Markham, Ont., on Friday, Hodgson deferred questions on whether Ma should remain in the party’s caucus to Prime Minister Mark Carney, who did not hold a scheduled news conference during an event in Halifax on Friday.

“Michael has already commented to the press. He said that his views did not reflect the views of the Liberal party. He has apologized for those views,” Hodgson told reporters when asked if Ma should remain in the Liberal caucus.

But Ma made no such acknowledgment in the apology posted to his social media, or in his statement to The Canadian Press. His statement, did however say he condemned forced labour “in all its forms.”

“Canada has amongst the most rigorous forced-labour import laws in the world, and I am proud to support the government’s work to eradicate forced labour from supply chains and enforce Canada’s import prohibition,” Ma said.

Hodgson said the Liberal government’s position on the matter has been “very clear.”

“We are against forced labour. All of our rules say there will be no products of forced labour that come into this country. And we stand by that,” said Hodgson, who was reportedly involved in courting Ma to cross the floor to the Liberals from the Conservatives in December.

Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong published an open letter to Carney on Friday calling on the prime minister to “urgently” clarify his position on forced labour and the Uyghur minority in China.

“Your position on this matter also directly affects those here at home,” Chong wrote.

“Canadians in the Chinese community have been subject to threats and intimidation from (the People’s Republic of China) for the simple act of speaking out on these very issues. Many also worry about families still in the PRC who may face consequences or punishment from the government of the PRC.”

The United Nations reported in 2022 that China had committed serious human rights violations in Xinjiang against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities that “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.”

A report issued that same year by Global Affairs Canada concluded China “is using otherwise legitimate programs for retraining and relocation of unemployed workers as instruments of a broader campaign of oppression, exploitation and indoctrination of the Uyghur Muslim population into Han (majority) Chinese culture.”

Beijing vehemently disputes those claims and argues it has addressed terrorism threats while offering economic opportunities to minority populations.

Canada has repeatedly rejected Beijing’s claims. A June 2021 government response to a committee report decried “the mass, arbitrary detention of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in internment camps” in Xinjiang.

Chong called on Carney to state publicly whether Canada’s assessment is that Uyghur forced labour has and is being used in China, and whether he proactively raised human rights issues with Chinese officials during his recent visit to Beijing.

“Are you committed to upholding the rules-based international order, including our trade agreements, which requires that the government prevent the importation of products produced using forced labour?” Chong wrote.

“These important questions concerning the conduct of international affairs require urgent clarification.”

On Monday, Carney’s office said public servants “submitted in error” a report to Parliament that suggested Carney did not raise human rights with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his January visit to Beijing. His office later said a corrected document had been sent to Parliament.

Carney told reporters in Beijing in January that he had raised human rights in direct conversations with Xi during that trip.

On Friday, Hodgson said Canada was in the process of recalibrating its relationship with China. While he acknowledged the two countries have had differences, he said those disagreements — and the bilateral conversations about them — don’t need to be made public.

“We will not allow for products done with forced labour into this country. They understand that. They understand what our lines are. and so we’re focused on where we do agree,” Hodgson said.

He said those areas of agreement have led to purchases of Canadian canola worth billions of dollars, the lifting of restrictions on Canadian pork products and the easing on visa restrictions to allow Canadians to do business in China.

“We’ve got clear categories of where we agree, and we’ve got places where we don’t agree,” he said. “Those lines are clear. We don’t need to have public discussions about where we disagree. We make that clear, to our friends in China.”

This report from The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2026.

— With files from Dylan Robertson

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press