OTTAWA — A Uyghur rights activist says Ottawa’s reaction to a new Chinese law on ethnic unity is tepid and does not live up to Canada’s promise to tackle transnational repression.

Beijing has enacted a law giving a legal basis for the Chinese government to prosecute people or organizations outside China if their actions are deemed to harm the progress of “ethnic unity.”

China says the law promotes harmony among the country’s 55 ethnic groups, who make up just under nine per cent of the country’s 1.4 billion population.

Canada’s representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council said Ottawa is concerned about the law and that minority rights must be respected.

Mehmet Tohti leads the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project, and says Ottawa has only made a “weak” and “vague” statement with no public action.

He says a statement in passing is not adequate, given the Carney government made transnational repression a priority when it hosted the G7 summit last year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2026.

— with files from The Associated Press

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press