The federal government has banned Huawei from working on Canada’s fifth-generation networks over security concerns, a decision critics say is long overdue.
The move puts Canada in line with key intelligence allies such as the United States, which has expressed concern about the national security implications of giving the Chinese technology giant access to key infrastructure.
The government also bans ZTE, another Chinese state-owned telecommunications company. A government statement released online said the companies would have until June 28, 2024, to remove or discontinue 5G equipment from Huawei and ZTE.
They will also have to remove or discontinue existing 4G equipment provided by companies by December 31, 2027. The policy statement said the government expects companies to stop buying new 4G or 5G equipment from companies by September this year.
“This is the right decision and we are pleased to announce it today, because it will provide our network for generations to come,” Innovation, Science and Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told a news conference on Thursday.
WATCH Canada bans Huawei from accessing 5G network
Canada bans Huawei from accessing 5G network
Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says the ban on the Chinese telecommunications company will help keep Canadians safe.
Asked about the risk of retaliation by the Chinese government, Champagne did not say it was a factor in the government’s decision.
“Let me be clear, this is about Canada, about our national security, about our telecommunications infrastructure,” he said.
Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino said the decision marks “a new era in the protection of our telecommunications industry”. He said the decision was made after an in-depth government investigation [of] 5G and wireless technology. “
“Canada is a country where people can innovate and start new businesses and use new technologies in 5G and beyond, but we also need to protect ourselves from the risks that can be exploited in these networks,” he said.
Mendicino said new legislation is coming to protect 5G networks. The law will “establish a framework for better protection of systems vital to our national security and give the government a new tool to respond to emerging cyber threats,” Mendicino said.
In the 21st century, cybersecurity is national security. And it is the responsibility of our government to protect Canadians from growing cyber threats.
Today we announced our intention to ban Huawei and ZTE from Canada’s telecommunications system.
– @marcomendicino
The minister said the legislation would also help protect infrastructure in the financial, energy and transport sectors.
The government’s decision is long overdue. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has launched a review of companies that will be allowed to operate 5G networks during their first term.
Then-Secretary of Public Safety Ralph Goodale promised to publish a decision on Huawei before the 2019 federal election.
Opposition parties are blowing up the government, saying the decision is too late
But opposition parties say the government has waited too long to make a decision.
In a statement to the media, conservative public safety critic Raquel Dancho and Gerard Deltel, a critic of the Innovation, Science and Industry Party, said the government should have banned Huawei earlier.
“The Conservatives have repeatedly called on the Trudeau government to do the right thing and to listen to the security experts and the calls of our allies, but they refused,” the statement said.
They also expressed concerns about the costs companies will have to bear to remove existing equipment.
“In the years of delay, Canadian telecommunications companies have bought hundreds of millions of dollars in Huawei equipment, which will now have to be removed from their networks at great cost,” they said.
In a tweet, conservative foreign critic Michael Chong also blamed the government.
“It didn’t take more than three years for the Trudeau government to ban Huawei,” Chong said.
“David Vinho, director of CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence), publicly warned the government of the Huawei threat in early December 2018.
1 / It should not have taken more than 3 years until the Trudeau government banned Huawei.
David Vinho, director of CSIS, publicly warned the government of the Huawei threat in early December 2018. https://t.co/cUhCPm6ufw
– @ MichaelChongMP
NDP critic for innovation, science and industry Brian Mas also criticized the government’s time.
“It took the liberal government three years to make that decision, while the other five Eyes countries announced their positions much earlier,” he said in a statement.
“This delay only works to raise serious questions at home and among our allies about the liberal government’s commitment to national security and hampers the internal telecommunications market.”
Mas also said the government is jeopardizing the security and confidentiality of Canadians by postponing the decision.
The development of 5G networks promises to give people faster online connections and provide more data capacity needed to allow more people and things to connect online.
While the federal government’s review of its 5G policy has looked broadly at which companies can serve the new, faster online networks, much of the focus is on whether Huawei will be allowed – and the possible national security implications of providing access.
The government has largely remained silent on the progress of the 5G review since China shut down Michael Kovrig, right, and Michael Spaver, left, nearly three years ago. (Colin Hall / CBC, Chris Helgren / Reuters)
The government has largely remained silent on the progress of the review since China imprisoned Michael Kovrig and Michael Spaver nearly three years ago, a clear act of revenge for the arrest by Huawei’s chief financial officer Meng Wangzhou of a US extradition order.
The two Canadians returned home last fall, hours after Mann reached an agreement on deferred prosecution with the US government.
Critics have warned that Huawei’s involvement in Canada’s 5G networks could give the company an inside look at how, when and where Canadians use Internet-connected devices – and that the Chinese government could force the company to share this personal information.
China’s National Intelligence Act says that Chinese organizations and citizens must support, assist and cooperate with the work of state intelligence.
Opposition conservatives are urging liberals to ban Huawei from accessing Canada’s 5G infrastructure, saying it would make it easier for Beijing to spy on Canadians.
Huawei insists it is a highly independent company that does not engage in espionage for anyone, including Beijing.
How can this affect Canada-China relations?
Various European nations and Canada’s allies in the five-eye intelligence group Five Eyes – including the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia – have taken aggressive action against Huawei, either by denying it access to its networks or by restricting the use of Huawei equipment.
Late last year, China’s foreign ministry warned that Beijing’s relations with Canada were “at a crossroads.”
Earlier in December, China’s ambassador to Canada signaled that Huawei’s detention would send a “very wrong signal.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attend a session of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019 (Kazuhiro Nogi / pool via Reuters)
Huawei is already supplying some Canadian telecommunications companies with 4G equipment.
As Global News reported, telecommunications companies spent hundreds of millions of dollars on Huawei equipment while the federal government’s review of 5G continued – although that number has been declining over the years.
It is unclear whether Ottawa’s decision to ban Huawei from 5G will require those companies to remove Huawei’s existing equipment or provide compensation.
The government also risks suing under the terms of a foreign investor protection agreement signed by Stephen Harper’s government with China.
Under this agreement, Huawei Canada – as an existing investor with assets – can sue Canada.
“It’s no secret that we’ve hired lawyers in the past. I am a lawyer myself. So, we are aware of our legal rights, “said Alihan Welshi, Huawei Canada’s vice president of corporate affairs, in an interview with CBC earlier this year.
“I suppose they are aware of their legal rights, but it is not for me to speculate on that.”
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