Juno News - December 04, 2021


Senator seeks ban on imports from Xinjiang, China

Mentioned
Most Canadians don't want unvaccinated friends or family in their homes Lawyers sign "Free North Declaration" to defend civil liberties

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Length

16 minutes

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170.76

Word count

2,787

Sentence count

69

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Misogyny

1

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1

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8

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Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

Sen. Leo Houssakos has proposed a bill that would ban the import of all products made in China's Xinjiang region, unless they are made using slave labor. In this episode, I talk to Sen. Leo about why he thinks this is a good idea.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 You're tuned in to The Andrew Lawton Show.
00:00:11.200 Welcome back to The Andrew Lawton Show.
00:00:13.740 I mentioned, of course, the World Health Organization
00:00:16.060 deciding to capitulate to China by skipping over the letter
00:00:20.080 Xi in the Greek alphabet when naming variants.
00:00:24.120 Well, we also had this funny story where the Simpsons
00:00:27.780 had an episode in which the Simpsons family went to Beijing
00:00:30.800 and they visited Tiananmen Square and saw,
00:00:33.620 as you can see on the screen there,
00:00:35.300 a sign that said nothing at all happened on that site in 1989.
00:00:41.800 And this episode conspicuously was absent
00:00:44.560 from the offerings on Disney Plus in Hong Kong.
00:00:48.760 So The Simpsons was announced,
00:00:50.280 and if you were skipping through all the episodes
00:00:52.080 from whatever season it was in 2005,
00:00:54.720 you'd say, oh, wow, I wonder what happens next.
00:00:56.480 I think it's that one where they go to China
00:00:57.960 and then the episode wouldn't be there.
00:01:01.100 And Disney Plus has decided that appeasing China 0.87
00:01:03.900 is more important than actually offering
00:01:06.620 the full slate of episodes from The Simpsons.
00:01:09.680 So I noted on Twitter that, you know,
00:01:11.980 what are the letters Xi and The Simpsons have in common?
00:01:15.260 Both have been censored to appease Chairman Xi
00:01:19.480 and the Chinese Politburo.
00:01:21.280 Now, I should say I'm not one of these
00:01:22.860 totally bi-Canadian people.
00:01:25.000 I think buying Canadian is great,
00:01:26.520 but what I mean by that is that I'm sympathetic
00:01:28.880 that not everyone can afford to buy Canadian-made things.
00:01:32.400 And I also realized that there are a lot of products
00:01:34.240 that simply aren't made in Canada
00:01:36.440 because we are, in general, an import economy
00:01:39.960 on a lot of the trinkets and gadgets
00:01:41.580 that people like to buy, that consumers like to buy.
00:01:45.140 But there's a difference between
00:01:46.980 not buying Canadian-made things
00:01:49.640 and buying Chinese-made things.
00:01:51.960 There are, you know, depending on who you ask,
00:01:53.460 194 other countries you could choose from.
00:01:56.700 So this is why I found it interesting to spotlight
00:01:59.180 this bill that was put forward in the Senate
00:02:01.520 by Senator Leo Houssakos, Bill C-204.
00:02:05.040 Now, this is not looking at just Chinese-made products.
00:02:08.080 It's identifying a problem that's very specific,
00:02:10.880 which is products in China made by forced labor,
00:02:14.180 specifically in the Xinjiang region,
00:02:16.680 where the genocide against the Uyghur Muslims
00:02:19.540 has taken place.
00:02:21.220 And what Senator Houssakos has proposed
00:02:23.120 is a bill that would ban the import
00:02:25.800 of anything made in this region.
00:02:28.200 Anything, regardless of whether it was made
00:02:30.500 by slave labor or not.
00:02:32.260 If it was from Xinjiang,
00:02:33.660 you cannot import it to Canada.
00:02:36.060 Now, it's important to note,
00:02:37.000 we do have a prohibition on products
00:02:39.300 made by forced labor,
00:02:40.780 but that is not something that it seems like
00:02:44.960 we've had tremendous success enforcing.
00:02:47.800 At least that's what all the reports
00:02:48.940 about CBSA's track record on this.
00:02:50.880 This has been a huge issue
00:02:52.260 and I want to talk about it with the Senator
00:02:53.660 who introduced this bill to bar all imports
00:02:56.640 from China's Xinjiang region,
00:02:58.980 Conservative Senator Leo Houssakos,
00:03:00.860 who joins me now.
00:03:01.940 Senator, good to talk to you again.
00:03:03.160 Thanks for coming on today.
00:03:04.700 Thank you for having me on.
00:03:06.180 Now, we already have, as I understand it,
00:03:08.680 a specific prohibition on goods
00:03:10.960 made with forced labor,
00:03:12.460 which is obviously one of the big challenges
00:03:15.140 in that region, in particular in China.
00:03:17.560 Why is this measure needed
00:03:19.480 on top of that, in your view?
00:03:21.360 Well, we do currently,
00:03:22.680 as you rightfully point out,
00:03:24.240 we do have in the law books
00:03:25.420 a lot of deal with this kind of issue
00:03:27.540 with slave labor.
00:03:28.520 Unfortunately, it hasn't worked.
00:03:30.460 We've seen over more than a year
00:03:32.160 now that the bill has been in the books
00:03:33.640 that CBSA and Customs Canada
00:03:35.820 has had a very hard time
00:03:37.640 making determinations
00:03:38.660 of what products are coming in
00:03:40.100 that have been manufactured
00:03:41.420 using slave labor.
00:03:43.920 And I think it's time
00:03:45.560 that Canada stops with the tokenisms.
00:03:47.760 And I think it's time
00:03:48.600 that the Trudeau government
00:03:49.500 gets its head out of the sand.
00:03:51.400 And we take steps and measures
00:03:53.300 against China for a variety of reasons.
00:03:55.780 China, as we know right now,
00:03:56.940 is the most egregious violator
00:03:58.680 of human rights around the world.
00:04:01.140 We know for a fact
00:04:02.640 that they have absolutely no respect
00:04:04.260 for human rights, democracy, freedom.
00:04:06.140 They're trampling on that freedom in Hong Kong.
00:04:09.000 They have no respect
00:04:09.820 for international rule of law.
00:04:11.420 We saw that how willingly they are
00:04:13.120 to engage in hostage diplomacy.
00:04:16.260 And ultimately, I want to reiterate
00:04:17.560 for the viewers
00:04:18.360 that at the end of the day,
00:04:20.040 the House of Commons
00:04:21.000 passed a motion
00:04:22.280 calling what's happening
00:04:23.480 to the Uyghur people
00:04:24.380 in Shanjing as a genocide.
00:04:26.320 The Senate of Canada
00:04:27.160 passed a motion
00:04:28.540 calling on the Trudeau government
00:04:29.880 to implement Magnitsky sanctions
00:04:32.100 against officials
00:04:33.100 in the Beijing regime.
00:04:35.280 And Trudeau continues
00:04:36.600 to refuse and drag his feet.
00:04:38.320 So I think S4,
00:04:40.420 which is the number
00:04:41.440 of my bill in the Senate,
00:04:43.060 is a bill that amends
00:04:44.500 the tariff act.
00:04:46.460 It makes it all encompassing.
00:04:48.320 Any product that's manufactured
00:04:50.060 or comes into Canada
00:04:51.640 through Shanjing
00:04:52.520 is going to be not acceptable,
00:04:55.280 will be turned around.
00:04:56.200 And it will be
00:04:56.940 an unequivocal message
00:04:58.240 that genocide and slave labour
00:05:00.740 will not be tolerated
00:05:02.360 by the Canadian people
00:05:03.620 and the Canadian government.
00:05:05.380 One of the challenges here,
00:05:07.000 and I'm sympathetic to companies
00:05:09.060 that want to do the right thing
00:05:10.600 but can't be entirely aware
00:05:12.880 of every stage
00:05:13.820 of their supply chain
00:05:14.820 when you get to subcontractors
00:05:16.360 and sub-subcontractors
00:05:17.780 and all of that.
00:05:18.840 So it strikes me
00:05:19.620 that your approach
00:05:20.420 would make it a lot easier
00:05:22.240 for it to be enforced,
00:05:23.340 both by CBSA,
00:05:24.500 but also for companies
00:05:26.180 that are doing business
00:05:27.020 with this part of the world.
00:05:28.640 100%.
00:05:29.240 Every single corporation
00:05:30.700 right now
00:05:31.280 that's doing business
00:05:32.200 in Shanjing,
00:05:33.220 they know full well
00:05:34.520 what's going on
00:05:35.560 to the Uyghur minority
00:05:36.600 in that region.
00:05:38.120 There's a genocide going on.
00:05:41.260 The Beijing regime
00:05:42.760 is completely intolerant
00:05:44.320 of all religious groups
00:05:45.840 in China.
00:05:47.600 And every group
00:05:48.900 and any corporation
00:05:50.100 that does business there,
00:05:51.180 we know full well
00:05:51.840 they're doing business
00:05:52.560 because they're putting profits
00:05:53.860 ahead of human rights.
00:05:55.060 And I've said this before
00:05:56.240 and I'll say it again.
00:05:57.420 There is nothing more fundamental
00:05:58.960 to Canadians
00:05:59.660 than democracy, freedom
00:06:01.580 and defense of human rights.
00:06:03.540 That's who we are.
00:06:04.460 That's our identity.
00:06:05.760 Every single Canadian
00:06:06.700 that's been drawn
00:06:07.500 to this country,
00:06:08.860 immigrants
00:06:09.180 and children of immigrants
00:06:10.420 and we are all here
00:06:12.380 either through immigration
00:06:13.520 or our children of immigrants,
00:06:16.600 we've come here
00:06:17.360 because of our values,
00:06:18.520 because of freedom,
00:06:19.620 because of our democracy,
00:06:20.720 because of human rights.
00:06:21.680 And if Canadians right now
00:06:23.320 aren't willing to defend them
00:06:24.580 in exchange for a few
00:06:26.020 cheaper products
00:06:26.820 or because some corporations
00:06:28.320 want to bypass
00:06:29.620 Canadian labor standards,
00:06:31.660 Canadian environmental standards,
00:06:33.700 intellectual property standards,
00:06:35.620 in order to make profits,
00:06:37.280 we should make it clear
00:06:38.220 that the day of reckoning
00:06:39.980 for China is now
00:06:41.120 and that we will not tolerate it.
00:06:43.020 And if China wants 0.73
00:06:43.780 to continue to benefit
00:06:44.860 from our wealthy
00:06:46.080 middle-class market,
00:06:47.340 they have to align themselves
00:06:49.180 to our rules,
00:06:50.300 our regulations
00:06:51.060 and our values.
00:06:53.320 Conservatives have always been
00:06:54.640 the party of free trade
00:06:56.020 and I know that free trade
00:06:57.360 in its truest sense
00:06:58.280 requires free actors
00:06:59.960 on both sides
00:07:00.960 of the transaction
00:07:01.720 but there are products
00:07:03.780 being made in China
00:07:05.040 that are not the products
00:07:06.380 of slave labor.
00:07:07.920 So why should those products
00:07:09.480 be closed off
00:07:10.240 to the Canadian market
00:07:11.200 if that's where a company
00:07:12.880 is getting its supplies from?
00:07:14.800 Well, my bill is
00:07:15.780 particularly zeroing in
00:07:17.660 on Xinjiang
00:07:18.280 because we know
00:07:19.080 there's a genocide
00:07:19.840 going on over there
00:07:21.080 but I've always said
00:07:22.380 in the past
00:07:22.880 we need to re-evaluate
00:07:24.000 all our trade relationship
00:07:25.300 with China
00:07:25.820 because at the end of the day
00:07:27.060 we see how they trample
00:07:28.540 on democracy in Hong Kong.
00:07:30.220 We see how they're belligerent
00:07:31.600 towards our friend
00:07:32.320 and ally in India,
00:07:34.140 how they're trampling
00:07:35.120 upon freedom in Taiwan.
00:07:38.080 It's a regime right now
00:07:39.440 that has absolutely shown
00:07:40.880 time and time again
00:07:42.000 their only value
00:07:43.640 is pursuit of profit
00:07:44.860 and with complete disregard
00:07:47.340 to the values of freedom
00:07:48.880 and human rights.
00:07:50.180 So I think again
00:07:51.760 the democratic world
00:07:53.260 and democracy funny enough
00:07:54.660 Andrew has never been
00:07:55.700 in a more precarious position
00:07:57.560 than it is in 2021
00:07:58.780 and in a lot of G7
00:08:01.160 and G20 countries
00:08:02.240 we take for granted
00:08:03.400 the fact that we have
00:08:04.800 certain freedoms
00:08:05.500 that come along
00:08:06.660 with our capitalist system
00:08:07.840 but capitalism
00:08:08.520 only genuinely works
00:08:10.120 when it's accompanied
00:08:10.780 by free enterprise
00:08:12.060 and you're absolutely right
00:08:13.780 conservatives were free traders
00:08:15.100 and I'm a free trader
00:08:16.060 but free trade has to be done
00:08:17.740 with a partner
00:08:18.620 where you have common values
00:08:19.940 you're aligned
00:08:20.900 in terms of your judicial system
00:08:22.580 your trading laws
00:08:25.100 your human rights approach
00:08:27.140 to human rights
00:08:27.860 labour laws
00:08:29.440 like I said earlier
00:08:30.220 environmental laws
00:08:31.200 intellectual property protection
00:08:33.060 these are all things
00:08:34.060 that the Chinese
00:08:35.340 communist regime disregards.
00:08:37.740 I know in the United States
00:08:39.540 there is an approach
00:08:40.520 where you have a reverse onus
00:08:42.160 in that if you can prove
00:08:43.380 that the products
00:08:44.520 you're importing
00:08:45.160 are not the products
00:08:46.440 of slave labour
00:08:47.160 now setting aside
00:08:48.060 the challenges
00:08:48.620 and proving a negative
00:08:49.520 then you'd be able
00:08:50.860 to skirt past a prohibition
00:08:52.840 why not carve an exemption
00:08:54.360 like that into your bill?
00:08:56.080 Because at the end of the day
00:08:57.460 it's just another loophole
00:08:59.100 that clever organisations
00:09:00.920 and corporations
00:09:02.000 in China
00:09:02.800 find a way to get around
00:09:04.060 we know what's going on
00:09:05.640 in Shenzhen
00:09:06.320 our parliament
00:09:07.240 has called that out
00:09:08.240 parliaments around the world
00:09:10.400 have called that genocide
00:09:11.480 what it is
00:09:12.300 and there are certain governments
00:09:13.740 that are always trying
00:09:14.660 to be cute by half
00:09:15.800 by allowing certain loopholes
00:09:17.820 in order to appease
00:09:18.900 certain corporations
00:09:20.120 and certain pursuits
00:09:21.160 of profit
00:09:21.680 like I said
00:09:23.060 it's for Canadians
00:09:24.760 that shouldn't be acceptable
00:09:25.800 it shouldn't be good enough
00:09:26.800 How do we get Canadians 0.81
00:09:29.380 and I think this is
00:09:30.260 Canadian business
00:09:30.980 and also Canadian consumers
00:09:32.580 off of this reliance
00:09:34.320 that we seem to have
00:09:35.340 on cheap Chinese made products
00:09:37.260 and I mean it's a challenge
00:09:38.800 because a lot of Canadians
00:09:39.920 who are themselves
00:09:40.780 dealing with economic hardship
00:09:42.220 will gravitate towards products
00:09:44.660 that are less expensive
00:09:45.640 the result is that we have
00:09:47.140 this self-fulfilling prophecy
00:09:49.000 of a reliance
00:09:49.820 on these cheap goods
00:09:50.640 in China
00:09:51.140 which as you've noted
00:09:52.180 do not have
00:09:53.380 a reliable supply chain
00:09:54.940 to them
00:09:55.420 Well there's a few things
00:09:56.940 we can do
00:09:57.540 number one
00:09:58.240 there's other developing
00:09:59.380 economic markets
00:10:00.320 in the world
00:10:00.820 that would love
00:10:01.500 to have some of the
00:10:02.500 lower paying jobs
00:10:04.260 that are currently
00:10:04.920 that are currently
00:10:06.620 the benefit
00:10:07.200 of the Chinese regime
00:10:09.060 and the Chinese economy
00:10:10.160 and I also believe
00:10:11.580 fundamentally
00:10:12.160 that our G7 countries
00:10:13.700 and G20 countries
00:10:14.680 and our democracies
00:10:15.420 around the world
00:10:16.100 have to find ways
00:10:17.420 to become more competitive
00:10:18.680 to cut through
00:10:19.340 bureaucratic red tape
00:10:21.280 to lower taxes
00:10:22.300 to start creating
00:10:24.340 manufacturing
00:10:25.240 and creating jobs
00:10:26.840 back in our countries 1.00
00:10:27.940 which is something
00:10:29.180 we haven't done
00:10:29.920 over the last 20 years
00:10:30.980 and of course
00:10:32.060 when we go back
00:10:34.480 to doing that
00:10:35.100 we'll inject action
00:10:36.360 into our economy
00:10:37.280 when we bring immigrants 1.00
00:10:39.340 to our countries
00:10:40.020 we'll give them jobs 0.96
00:10:41.200 there's many ways
00:10:43.120 to do it
00:10:43.640 but right now
00:10:44.240 we've become
00:10:44.860 very complacent
00:10:46.400 we've become
00:10:47.580 very reliant
00:10:48.480 on cheap products
00:10:49.740 that come in from China
00:10:50.720 it's one thing
00:10:51.320 about a product
00:10:52.400 being competitive
00:10:53.760 within a free market economy
00:10:55.240 it's a whole other thing
00:10:56.600 when you're using slave labor
00:10:58.000 and I don't think
00:10:59.700 in the 21st century
00:11:00.900 allowing any 0.94
00:11:02.460 economic system
00:11:04.440 any totalitarian regime
00:11:06.260 around the world
00:11:06.980 to use slavery
00:11:08.440 in 2021
00:11:09.420 it's unbelievable
00:11:11.300 that it's happening
00:11:12.280 in this day and age
00:11:13.520 and like I said
00:11:14.460 Canadians
00:11:14.900 and all of us
00:11:16.220 from the West
00:11:16.700 have to take our heads
00:11:18.020 out of the sand
00:11:18.740 and take a stand
00:11:19.920 and take a stand
00:11:20.660 with our wallets
00:11:22.080 when we go to the stores
00:11:23.060 and you're buying
00:11:23.680 your Nike product
00:11:24.620 or your H&M product
00:11:25.940 or you're buying
00:11:27.100 any clothing apparel
00:11:30.360 ask the questions
00:11:31.980 where is it from
00:11:32.780 who's made this
00:11:34.340 it takes only a few seconds
00:11:36.300 to get to the bottom
00:11:37.220 of this
00:11:37.600 but you're taking a stand
00:11:39.240 for humanity
00:11:39.840 when you do that
00:11:40.620 well and I should note here
00:11:42.180 the Canadian government
00:11:43.140 is not necessarily
00:11:44.480 immune from this problem
00:11:45.780 as I'm sure you
00:11:46.940 and those watching
00:11:48.100 are aware
00:11:48.600 Canadian government
00:11:49.680 chose Lululemon
00:11:50.720 as being the official
00:11:51.780 clothing supplier
00:11:52.720 for Team Canada
00:11:53.920 for the upcoming
00:11:54.540 Beijing Olympics
00:11:55.360 and just last week
00:11:56.660 the Globe and Mail
00:11:57.660 reported that
00:11:58.340 Lululemon
00:11:58.940 is on a watch list
00:12:00.520 for a brand
00:12:01.100 that could be using
00:12:01.920 products
00:12:02.400 specifically cotton
00:12:03.360 that was coming
00:12:04.400 from forced labour
00:12:05.380 so you're right
00:12:06.020 how insidious this is
00:12:07.420 in all of these
00:12:08.140 different areas
00:12:08.760 of enterprise
00:12:09.660 and you know
00:12:10.380 right back to Canada
00:12:11.280 look we have over the last
00:12:14.140 few decades
00:12:15.020 as a government
00:12:15.800 and as a people
00:12:16.660 because of our reliance
00:12:18.680 on cheap goods
00:12:19.480 we've accepted
00:12:20.340 and tolerated
00:12:21.220 and turned a blind eye
00:12:22.960 to behaviour
00:12:24.000 that is just the most
00:12:25.620 egregious
00:12:26.200 and inexcusable
00:12:27.180 and we have to start
00:12:29.320 asking ourselves
00:12:30.160 the three or four percent
00:12:31.720 of our trading
00:12:33.060 activity with China
00:12:34.960 is it worth really
00:12:36.380 compromising our values
00:12:38.480 and who we are
00:12:39.140 as a people
00:12:39.740 you know
00:12:40.900 Canadians
00:12:41.560 hundreds of thousands
00:12:43.320 gave up their lives
00:12:44.540 in a successive number
00:12:46.320 of wars
00:12:46.920 fighting for democracy
00:12:48.300 and freedom
00:12:48.900 people that came
00:12:50.460 to this country
00:12:51.120 in the 40s
00:12:51.820 and 50s
00:12:52.380 and 60s
00:12:52.940 and to this date
00:12:53.780 they're fleeing
00:12:54.380 oppression
00:12:55.460 and hardships
00:12:56.580 around the world
00:12:57.500 and authoritarian regimes
00:12:59.220 and they're coming
00:12:59.860 to Canada
00:13:00.380 and they embrace
00:13:01.100 our passport
00:13:01.780 and flag
00:13:02.460 and our way
00:13:03.280 of life
00:13:03.780 but yet
00:13:04.720 on the back end
00:13:06.040 we're dealing with
00:13:07.140 like I said
00:13:07.700 the most brutal regime
00:13:08.900 who has no value
00:13:11.460 for human life
00:13:12.400 no respect
00:13:13.420 for the standards
00:13:14.240 that we hold so dear
00:13:15.480 and yet we continue
00:13:17.060 to pursue that relationship
00:13:18.400 and at the end of the day
00:13:19.840 we've got to look
00:13:20.360 in the mirror
00:13:20.760 and ask ourselves
00:13:21.600 are we going to continue
00:13:22.760 to engage
00:13:23.340 in this hypocrisy 0.69
00:13:24.280 I know you've got
00:13:25.960 to get your bill
00:13:26.480 through the Senate first
00:13:27.980 and the House of Commons
00:13:29.060 will have the chance
00:13:29.960 to weigh in as well
00:13:30.820 but any early indications
00:13:32.500 how other parties
00:13:33.780 are going to respond
00:13:34.840 to this
00:13:35.200 I would assume
00:13:35.900 that this is something
00:13:36.620 that should cross party lines
00:13:38.540 although we know
00:13:39.280 from that motion
00:13:40.460 on condemning
00:13:41.400 the genocide
00:13:41.960 against Uyghurs 1.00
00:13:42.760 that the Liberal Cabinet
00:13:44.060 was very much
00:13:45.480 not interested
00:13:46.140 in making that condemnation
00:13:47.780 There's no doubt
00:13:49.080 the Trudeau government
00:13:49.940 as I said earlier on
00:13:51.880 they keep dragging
00:13:52.760 their feet
00:13:53.300 they keep
00:13:54.060 being in contempt
00:13:55.880 of Parliament
00:13:56.500 at the end of the day
00:13:57.420 the House of Commons
00:13:58.340 as I mentioned
00:13:59.080 has called upon
00:14:00.460 the government
00:14:00.880 to recognize
00:14:01.540 the genocide
00:14:02.100 they refuse
00:14:02.780 we've asked
00:14:03.680 for Magnitsky sanctions
00:14:04.760 they refuse
00:14:05.700 so they seem
00:14:07.960 to constantly
00:14:08.720 kowtow
00:14:09.380 to this Chinese regime
00:14:10.780 they seem
00:14:12.760 to condemn publicly
00:14:14.180 in terms of using words
00:14:16.240 certain behavior
00:14:17.280 that's inexcusable
00:14:18.340 but when it comes
00:14:19.060 to backing it up
00:14:19.920 with action
00:14:20.540 it never seems
00:14:22.320 to equate
00:14:23.180 the language
00:14:23.800 it's business as usual
00:14:25.720 it's trade delegations
00:14:27.200 as usual
00:14:27.860 we've seen instances
00:14:29.660 where senior liberals
00:14:30.900 including a former
00:14:32.240 prime minister
00:14:32.940 and senior liberal
00:14:34.560 cabinet ministers
00:14:35.480 come out
00:14:36.040 and actually
00:14:36.520 encourage this government
00:14:37.640 during the two Michaels crisis
00:14:39.280 to engage
00:14:41.220 in hostage diplomacy
00:14:42.300 something never seen before
00:14:44.040 and that's another
00:14:45.000 concern of mine
00:14:45.900 we've seen how
00:14:46.740 the Chinese regime
00:14:48.080 using various
00:14:49.380 organizations
00:14:50.360 and corporations
00:14:51.720 and agents
00:14:53.180 they have infiltrated
00:14:54.400 various institutions
00:14:55.940 and all aspects
00:14:57.060 of our governance
00:14:58.480 our academic institutions
00:15:00.320 the business milieu
00:15:01.420 and you see it
00:15:03.220 on a daily basis
00:15:04.140 so Canadians
00:15:04.740 not only have they become
00:15:06.020 addicted to cheap products
00:15:07.680 from China
00:15:08.180 but we've also
00:15:09.280 have seen
00:15:09.820 various industries
00:15:10.880 including many
00:15:11.780 in the media
00:15:12.340 that have been
00:15:13.240 addicted
00:15:13.780 to money
00:15:15.540 that the Chinese regime
00:15:17.040 has been pouring
00:15:18.020 into this country
00:15:18.900 through foundations
00:15:19.800 and academic chairs
00:15:21.800 and playing out advertising
00:15:23.860 when Huawei sponsors
00:15:25.400 Hockey Night in Canada
00:15:26.540 this is another form
00:15:29.740 of influence
00:15:30.520 on our media platforms
00:15:33.340 and communication platforms
00:15:34.920 in this country
00:15:35.580 and we have to remember
00:15:36.880 all these dollars
00:15:38.140 coming in
00:15:38.760 from all these
00:15:39.360 type of fronts
00:15:41.660 for the communist
00:15:42.500 authoritarian regime
00:15:43.860 are money
00:15:44.760 that they've made
00:15:45.360 off the back
00:15:46.100 of people
00:15:47.400 very well said
00:15:51.040 and you'll be happy
00:15:51.820 to know
00:15:52.120 and perhaps not
00:15:52.760 all that surprised
00:15:53.440 Huawei is not a sponsor
00:15:54.800 of the Andrew Lawton
00:15:55.740 show or True North
00:15:56.540 so we're good there
00:15:57.740 but I think your point
00:15:58.580 is very well taken
00:15:59.680 and in the absence
00:16:00.680 of action
00:16:01.180 we have some action
00:16:02.360 coming from you
00:16:03.400 Senator
00:16:03.720 in Bill S204
00:16:06.020 Senator Leo Houssakos
00:16:07.620 thank you so much
00:16:08.220 for joining me
00:16:08.680 it's good to talk to you
00:16:09.440 anytime Andrew
00:16:10.520 thank you so much
00:16:11.320 thanks for listening
00:16:12.620 to the Andrew Lawton show
00:16:13.820 support the program
00:16:14.880 by donating to True North
00:16:16.100 at www.tnc.news