John McCallum, Canada's new ambassador to China, said human rights and labor standards will be included in free trade talks between the two countries.
While formal trade negotiations have yet to begin and Ottawa is still conducting a round of exploratory consultation, Canada will pursue a "progressive" deal that would include chapters on both those areas should both nations enter into talks, McCallum told the press on Wednesday.
McCallum said he has seen lots of enthusiasm in Canada for a deal with China and is ready to pursue deeper economic ties with them but at the expense of human rights.
"We have to do this with our eyes open," McCallum said in an interview with the Canadian Press. "We know that in many areas, China and Canada have different views of the world, different priorities, different laws."
"There are huge gains for Canadians if we're successful. We also have responsibility on the human rights side. We do both," he added.
Potential trade agreements between Canada and China have been met with opposition as critics point to recent comments from Beijing that human rights issues in China and limits on investment by Chinese state-owned companies should not be part of trade discussions.
Former World Bank chief and U.S. trade czar Robert Zoellick warned that Canada should not become too close to China if it wants to stay on the good side of the Trump administration.
At a recent event in Washington, Zoellick raised concerns about the timing of Canada-China trade talks in light of highly-publicized anti-China sentiment from President Trump and several top U.S. trade officials.
"I'm not trying to interfere with your sovereign decisions... But given the personality [of Trump], just be careful about that. If you're going to do it, make sure you get something good for it," he said.
In response, McCallum said that the U.S. still does not have its Chinese ambassador and it remains to be seen how the White House will actually engage with Beijing.
"But whatever the American position is, the Canadian position has been defined clearly by our prime minister and it's my job to put that into effect," he said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated his administration's stance when asked Wednesday about Zoellick's comments.
"Canadians expect me as prime minister to grow our economy and defend our jobs while, at the same time, standing up for our values and principles and those are two things that I will always do," he said.
McCallum noted that even before there are talks of a trade deal, there is much that Canada and China can accomplish economically, including increasing tourism and making progress together on dealing with climate change.
Environment Minister Catherine McKenna is expected to visit China in the near future to pursue Canada's plans for a potentially lucrative deal on green energy technology, he added.
McCallum also expressed his eagerness to start a high-level economic dialogue with China sometime in the next three months, but will be watching closely for signs on where the country will be headed on human rights.
"The more we can establish good ties, the more they will listen to us in other areas. I am cautiously optimistic that as we deepen our relationship, they will listen to us more in general than they may have in the past," he said.