For immediate release
March 27, 2026, UHRP
The Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) is deeply concerned by recent comments made by Canadian Member of Parliament Michael Ma, which appear to dismiss evidence of forced labor in China, including Uyghur forced labor.
During a parliamentary hearing on March 26, 2026, Mr. Ma repeatedly questioned Margaret McCuaig-Johnston of the China Strategic Risks Institute about whether she had witnessed forced labor in China, casting doubt on her expert testimony. In response to McCuaig-Johnston’s answer citing research conducted by Human Rights Watch, Mr. Ma reportedly stated, “I don’t believe reports, I only believe in things that I can see with my own eyes.”
Mr. Ma’s comment reflects either a willful disregard for well-documented evidence or a troubling alignment with the Chinese government’s efforts to obscure and deny ongoing human rights abuses, including Uyghur forced labor. Chinese authorities have consistently blocked international human rights investigations and concealed atrocities from visitors.
Uyghur forced labor is extensively documented through numerous reports, including a 2024 report by Dr. Adrian Zenz and I-Lin Lin documenting forced labor in agricultural production and a 2025 joint investigation by The New York Times, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and Der Spiegel revealing the expansion of state-led labor transfer programs targeting Uyghurs. A team of researchers led by Dr. Laura Murphy highlighted the complicity of the solar, cotton, and automobile industries in the forced labor of Uyghurs. The Coalition to End Uyghur Forced Labor writes that more than “17+ global industries – from agriculture to toys – are implicated in state-sponsored Uyghur forced labour.” As recently as this January, UN experts expressed concern about ongoing forced labor of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other groups in China.
Canada is one of a dozen countries that have formally recognized the Chinese government’s treatment of Uyghurs as genocide, making any statements that downplay these abuses especially concerning.
Although Mr. Ma later issued an apology, stating he had been referring specifically to Shenzhen rather than the Uyghur Region, he declined to directly answer subsequent questions from CBC News regarding whether he believes forced labor exists in China at all.
Mr. Ma’s remarks are particularly concerning as they coincide with the 20th anniversary of the deportation and imprisonment of Canadian citizen and Uyghur activist Huseyin Celil by Chinese authorities.
“We strongly condemn Mr. Ma’s remarks, which ignore the overwhelming body of evidence documented by international experts, human rights organizations, investigative journalists, and victim testimony,” said UHRP Executive Director Omer Kanat. “It is deeply troubling and frankly shameful to downplay or dismiss such well-established findings without offering any credible evidence to the contrary.”
UHRP calls on Mr. Ma to fully disavow his comments and affirm his commitment to human rights. UHRP also urges all Canadian officials to resist misinformation, uphold evidence-based policymaking, and take meaningful steps to ensure that goods produced through forced labor do not enter Canadian markets.
