Canadian rights groups urge PM Mark Carney to raise human rights concerns during China visit

Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], January 14 : Ahead of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's official visit to China, several leading human rights organisations and civil society groups in Canada have urged Ottawa to place human rights on par with trade and diplomatic engagement during talks with Beijing.

The visit will be the first by a Canadian prime minister since 2017 and is seen as an effort to reset strained bilateral ties while expanding Canada's economic engagement beyond its reliance on the United States, according to Phayul.

Rights groups have warned that renewed economic engagement should not come at the cost of ignoring what they describe as serious human rights violations by Chinese authorities, both within China and against dissidents and minority communities abroad.

In a statement issued ahead of Carney's departure, the Tibet Action Institute (TAI) called on the Canadian Prime Minister to raise concerns directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping over China's state-run residential boarding school system in Tibet.

TAI said the system separates Tibetan children from their families, culture, religion and language, which it described as an act of cultural erasure.

According to the institute, nearly one million Tibetan children, about 78 per cent of those aged six to 18, along with tens of thousands of pre-school children, have been placed in these schools. TAI said this poses "an existential threat" to Tibetan identity.

Referring to Canada's own history with residential schools, TAI said the country has a moral responsibility to challenge similar policies elsewhere. The institute said Canada must ensure that principled diplomacy remains inseparable from economic cooperation.

Separately, at least nine Canadian rights groups, including Amnesty International Canada, the Canada Tibet Committee and the Canadian Coalition on Human Rights in China, issued an open letter urging Carney to raise a wider range of concerns during the visit.

These include the prosecution of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, the continued detention of Uyghur-Canadian activist Huseyin Celil, and increased repression of Uyghurs, Tibetans, Christians and Falun Gong practitioners, as reported by Phayul.

The coalition also accused China-linked actors of targeting Canadian civil society groups and diaspora communities through intimidation and interference. It said Ottawa must respond firmly to such actions.

The groups said Canada should send a clear message that Chinese officials involved in such activities must face expulsion, according to Phayul.

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