Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looked like the proverbial deer in the headlights..During a press conference in Cambodia, Trudeau declined to say the Chinese government is trying to eliminate Uyghur Muslims. .“The word genocide, acts of genocide, are to be taken incredibly seriously as a world,” said Trudeau, who looked extremely uncomfortable. . Trudeau on Chinese genocideTrudeau on Chinese genocide .“We have objective, historical expert processes to put in place those words and those designations.” .Trudeau said he's been to the Shoah Memorial in Israel, the genocide memorial in Rwanda, and seen the history of the genocide in Cambodia. .He said Canada will continue “to call out vicious human rights abuses around the world, including against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang by the Chinese government.” He added designations of genocide need to be made by proper international authorities. .Quillette associate editor Jonathan Kay mocked Trudeau by welcoming people to Canada, where “our leaders confess to Canadian genocides every day of the week, and twice on Sunday — complete with tears, teddy bears, and lowered flags.”.“But ask Trudeau to comment on real human rights abuses, and he descends into history's saddest Monty Python sketch,” said Kay. .Trudeau said in 2021 Canada should be cautious before citing China for genocide. .READ MORE: Trudeau refuses to call Chinese actions genocide.“There is no question there have been tremendous human rights abuses reported out of Xinjiang and we are extremely concerned,” he said. .“But when it comes to the application of the very specific word ‘genocide’ we simply need to ensure that all the I’s are dotted and the T’s are crossed.”.The Canadian government unanimously passed a non-binding motion in 2021 saying China’s treatment of the Uyghurs is genocide..READ MORE: China strikes back after Parliament accuses them of genocide.Trudeau and other cabinet ministers did not attend the vote..The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Canada’s “so-called declaration violates the diplomatic code of conduct and norms governing international relations.”.A number of MPs gave unanimous consent to a motion calling on the Canadian government to recognize the Indian residential school system as genocide on Oct. 27. .READ MORE: RUBENSTEIN: Is Canada really a genocidal country?.NDP MP Leah Gazan introduced the motion following Question Period. Gazan brought forward a similar motion in 2021, but it failed to receive unanimous consent. .“That, in the opinion of the House that the government must recognize what happened in Canada's Indian residential schools as genocide, as acknowledged by Pope Francis and in accordance with Article II of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,” said the motion.
