Investments in China by Canada’s largest public pension funds are facing increased scrutiny amid worsening relations between the two countries… and allegations that some of those investments are funding the oppression of China’s Uyghur minority.

Recently, representatives of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, which manages the pensions of B.C. public sector workers, told a parliamentary committee studying Canada-China relations that they had paused new direct investment in China because of the increasing risks associated with that country.

Canada’s two largest public pension investors — the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec — say they need exposure to the world’s second-largest economy to provide returns for Canadians… but they promise they can invest responsibly in China.

(with files from CP)