A tense moment in Ottawa as a witness for Clean Energy Canada is pushed to explain why we should allow Chinese EVs into our market despite major human rights concerns. If the "economic choice" relies on forced labour, is it even a choice at least some Canadians are willing to make?

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[–] BetaDoggo_@lemmy.world 15 points 6 days ago (2 children)

There are human rights concerns in almost every product we import, this is a weird spot to draw the line.

[–] nyan@lemmy.cafe 8 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I'm sure that there is an American auto company's PR arm clinging to the bottom of the rock and hoping that it can scuttle away before anyone flips it over.

(Seriously, anything with a screen in it likely has some parts that were made by Chinese forced labour, including whatever device you're reading this on.)

[–] Auli@lemmy.ca 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Does Samsung use Chinese factories to make their screens?

[–] nyan@lemmy.cafe 3 points 6 days ago

If it has a screen in it, it also contains basic electronic components—capacitors, resistors, diodes, etc. And unless something's changed in the last few years, those are mostly made in China.

[–] Bubbaonthebeach@lemmy.ca 4 points 6 days ago

It doesn't even need to be imported. We have tfw's with sketchy work conditions here in Canada. If you eat meat or vegetables or wear clothing produced in North America there is a chance it has some part done by not strictly legal labour. Most Canadians are happy not to think about why Walmart is able to 'roll the price back' or $stores can sell that stuff even cheaper.