Hong Kong Watch response to Government response to the fifth report by the Special Committee on the Canada-People’s Republic of China Relationship
Hong Kong Watch response to Government response to the fifth report by the Special Committee on the Canada-People’s Republic of China Relationship, entitled: The Exposure of Canadian Investment Funds to Human Rights Violations in the People’s Republic of China
Last month, the Government of Canada issued a response to a report from the Special Committee on the Canada-People’s Republic of China Relationship (CACN) on the exposure of Canadian investment funds to human rights violations in the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
We welcome the Government’s response, and its general support for the principles of each recommendation from the report. The report follows research from Hong Kong Watch that found that passive investments held by Canadian public pension funds in companies complicit in human right abuses, which prompted the Committee to study the issue.
One of the recommendations from the Hong Kong Watch research was for Canada to draw up a list of banned entities that are known to be involved in state-sponsored forced labour in the Uyghur region, applying this to public procurement, pension and government investment, and imports.[1] The Committee’s report has three recommendations that pertains to the development of an entity list:
Recommendation 1: That the Government of Canada study how it could compile and maintain an official list of companies deemed unsuitable for investment.
Recommendation 2: That the Government of Canada, in partnership with provinces, study the establishment of a list of companies in the People’s Republic of China that Canadian public pensions plans are prohibited from investing in due to risks to national security, corruption or gross human rights violations.
Recommendation 3: That the Government of Canada work with the United States and other allies to develop common approaches to human rights implications of public pension plan fund investments, including developing a list of banned investments because of suspected human rights abuses.[2]
In response to these recommendations on developing an entity list, the Government of Canada stated the following:
The Government agrees with the importance of increased scrutiny of pension fund investments and of ensuring that public pension funds do not invest in companies or regions that present national security, corruption, or gross human rights violation risks. Certain companies and regions pose such high risks that they do not present suitable investments for pension plans. The Government’s approach to the oversight of pension funds and to addressing these risks through a variety of tools is aligned with, and demonstrates its commitment to, this objective.[3]
While we welcome this response, we urge the Government of Canada to not only support the recommendations in principle but to also take concrete actions to address the exposure of Canadian investment funds to human rights violations in the PRC. The development of an entity list is crucial to ensuring that Canadian pensions are not supporting human rights violators. Canada can reference entity lists that other countries, such as the United States, have developed in response to human rights violations when developing a list for the Canadian context.
We urge the Government to develop an entity list as soon as possible and prohibit Canadian public pensions plans from investing in entities that pose risks to national security, corruption or gross human rights violations.