Canada’s House of Commons recently passed a tough China-related motion calling on Prime Minister Trudeau’s Liberal government to take tougher measures against China, including a formal ban on the use of Chinese tech giant Huawei’s 5G technology in Canada.
Pushed by the Conservatives, opposition parties on Wednesday passed a non-binding motion that gives the government 30 days to decide whether to allow Huawei to supply equipment for Canada’s next-generation 5G wireless network.
The motion also states that China is a threat to Canadian interests and values, and calls on the government to come up with a plan within 30 days to counter China’s actions aimed at intimidating Chinese citizens living in Canada.
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole said, “We urge the Liberal government to finally stand up and make a decision on Huawei’s participation in Canada’s 5G.”
The Trudeau government is holding off on a decision on whether to allow Huawei’s 5G technology to be used. Even though key allies of the Five Eyes coalition – the U.S., U.K., Australia and New Zealand – have moved to ban Huawei.
Trudeau reiterated that the government is waiting for recommendations from intelligence agencies.
Relations between Canada and China have been at a low point since China imprisoned Canadians Mingkai Kang and Spavor nearly two years ago in retaliation for the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) said recently that China has often used undercover national security officials and agents to target members of Canada’s Chinese community in an effort to silence dissent and even threaten retaliation against their families in China.
Canada also named China, Russia, Iran and North Korea as the world’s leading cybercrime threats in a report Wednesday.
China, for its part, accused the Trump administration of trying to weaken Huawei by targeting Meng Wanzhou, which puts Canada in the middle of a dispute between the world’s two largest economies.
The U.S. says Huawei’s equipment could provide intelligence information to the Chinese military and has urged Canada and Western allies not to use its technology, but Huawei rejects the accusation.
A Chinese spokesman in Canada said Thursday that Huawei “is a self-developed private Chinese company” and “urged some Canadian politicians to immediately stop their wrongdoing of smearing China and engaging in political maneuvering on China-related issues.
Huawei has supported, and will continue to support, the government’s evidence-based review of potential 5G providers,” Alykhan Velshi, vice president of Huawei Canada, said in a statement. He also said the company has “never received” complaints about security breaches in Canada.
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