Hong Kong Watch launches ESG report in Canadian House of Commons

Prior to the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover and the second anniversary of the enactment of the draconian National Security Law, Hong Kong Watch published a new ESG report, titled ‘Passively Supporting Oppression’, which details how Canadian pensions, banks, and universities are inadvertently financing gross human rights abuse in China. The report launch event, held at the Canadian House of Commons, was well attended by Canadian parliamentarians across different parties, including the Conservative Party of Canada, New Democratic Party, Liberal Party of Canada, and Bloc Quebecois, as well as members from the Committee on Canada-China Relations.

During a panel discussion themed ‘25 years under CCP rule, lessons drawn from the crisis in Hong Kong and how the world can respond’, Canadian Parliamentarians Garnett Genuis MP and Jenny Kwan MP, Hong Kong Watch’s Director of Policy and Advocacy Sam Goodman, and Hong Kong Watch’s Trustee Aileen Calverley talked about the current crisis in Hong Kong and how the international community could respond. All attending parliamentarians spoke at the discussion session and mentioned the pressing need for the Canadian government to sanction against Chinese and Hong Kong officials involved in human rights abuses.

The new report by Hong Kong Watch has broken down the holdings of the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, Canada’s Civil Service Superannuation Fund, provincial pension funds including, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario, the Caisse de de dépôt, and the Alberta Investment Management Corporation, as well as university endowment funds in 2021 with ties either to Chinese government activities in Xinjiang or the Chinese military. The report finds the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has considerable holdings in Alibaba and Tencent, and up until 31 March 2022 had holdings in a number of US sanctioned companies including Zhejiang Dahua Technology, iFlytek, China General Nuclear, China National Nuclear Corporation, ZTE, China State Construction International, AviChina Industry and Technology, and Xinjiang Goldwind Science and Technology.

Event Host:

Garnett Genuis MP — Hong Kong Watch Patron, Member of Parliament for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan

Speakers:

Jenny Kwan MP — Member of Parliament for Vancouver East
Sam Goodman — Director of Policy and Advocacy of Hong Kong Watch
Aileen Calverley — Co-founder and Trustee of Hong Kong Watch

The following Canadian Senators, Members of the House of Commons or their representatives, think tanks and Hong Konger groups also attended the report launch event:

Senator Leo Housakos

James Bezan MP

Kelly Block MP

Sameer Zuberi MP

Jean Yip MP

Heather McPherson MP

Representative of Michael Chong MP

Representative of Marie-France Lalonde MP

Representative of Greg McLean MP

Representative of Stephane Bergeron MP

Representative of Kerry Findlay MP

Charles Burton — Macdonald–Laurier Institute