Canadian PM denounces rise of authoritarianism around the world

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a speech denounced the rise of authoritarianism around the world. He called on democracies to live up to their ideals through trade and foreign policy, Al Jazeera reported. Trudeau in his remarks to the Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank based in the United States city of New York, on Friday, said: "If we don't step up, other forces will step in. As like-minded democracies, as major economies, we need to work together to meet this moment."

His speech took swipes at countries like Russia and China while encouraging Canada and its allies to strengthen their commitments to human rights through economic incentives, according to Al Jazeera. Trudeau said: "We can't just push back or punish or single out bad actors. We can't just say, for example, that we want our companies to restrict the amount of critical minerals they buy from China specifically."

"Instead, we should simply commit to sourcing our critical minerals from places that ban forced labour. That have safety standards. That pay their workers a living wage." He later noted: "The lithium produced in Canada is going to be more expensive because we don't use slave labour."

China is one of the biggest producers of lithium, a metal used in mobile phones and electric batteries, in the world, behind Australia and Chile. Trudeau also added that, while his administration hopes to cooperate with China on issues like the environment, the Asian country has become "an increasingly disruptive global power" in his estimation, as per Al Jazeera.

Tensions have been high between the two countries. Ottawa has accused China of election meddling and establishing overseas "police stations" in Canada, claims a foreign ministry spokesperson denied as "smears".