Huawei CFO’s arrest renews political criticisms about 5G access

The Opposition Conservatives are re-upping calls for a ban on Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.'s participation in the buildout of Canada's 5G networks, following news that Canada arrested the company’s CFO Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver Saturday as the U.S. seeks her extradition. In question period Thursday, Conservative MPs Pierre Paul-Hus and Dan Albas renewed calls for a ban, citing the arrest and a speech from the head of CSIS warning about threats of state-sponsored espionage in Canada that referenced 5G networks. “Everyday we get more reasons to ban Huawei from our 5G network,” Albas said. “Huawei will be forced to spy on Canadians for the Communist Chinese government,” he said, calling again on the government to secure next generation networks and “ban Huawei.” An NDP critic piled on criticism Thursday in the wake of the news as well. Asked by reporters about Huawei’s involvement with 5G technology in Canada, NDP MP Charlie Angus replied this could be a “wake-up call” for the Liberals. “The issue of national security and foreign actors and foreign government companies remains a huge issue and there’s a real politically naiveté with this government in terms of their relations, certainly with China and laying down some ground rules,” he said. “This may be a wake up call and they may start to take these issues seriously.” Parliamentary secretary to the minister of innovation David Lametti defended the Liberal government, saying during question period Canada will “never compromise our national security” and will rely on advice from its national security experts before making any final decisions, referencing an ongoing cybersecurity review. Earlier in the day, Scott Jones, the head of the Communications Security Establishment’s (CSE) Centre for Cyber Security, confirmed to reporters at a Thursday morning press briefing that there is a deadline for the federal government’s national security review into 5G technology. But he refused to say when exactly it’s due. “There’s an ongoing review of 5G and the government of Canada’s comprehensive approach to this,” he said. “No conclusion has been reached at this point.” “We’re working to the agreed upon timeline to the government.” The Liberal government has so far avoided making statements committing it one way or the other on a potential Huawei 5G ban, after other five-eyes countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, moved to prevent the company’s equipment from entering their next generation telecommunications networks and as U.S. politicians press Canada to follow suit. Meng’s high-profile arrest put the spotlight on the company and those security concerns again, and attracted media commentary by trade and international relations experts warning the move could affect trade relations -- noting the timing of the arrest lands as the U.S. is in trade talks with China. Canada’s Liberal government has meanwhile made no secret about its desire for closer trade relations with China. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau put some distance between himself and the arrest Thursday, telling reporters in Montreal that he was informed about Meng’s arrest days before it happened but was not involved. “The appropriate authorities took the decisions in this case,” he said. “We were advised by them with a few days notice that this was in the works. But, of course, there was no engagement or involvement at the political level in this decision because we respect the independence of our judicial processes. Further to that, I have not had any direct or indirect conversations with my international counterparts on this.” White House national security adviser John Bolton similarly told NPR in an interview that he also knew ahead of time, but only commented generally about the Trump administration’s concerns with Chinese tech companies and IP theft. Little is known about the details surrounding the charges and case at this point; Meng sought out a publication ban. However, the Globe and Mail, which first reported Meng’s Dec. 1 arrest Wednesday, reported it’s in relation to a potential breach of U.S. sanctions on Iran. China quickly rebuked Canada’s move to arrest Meng, the daughter of Huawei's founder, when its embassy in Canada demanded her quick release following the media reports of her arrest. Huawei itself issued a statement that said it has been given “very little information” about the charges and is “not aware of any wrongdoing by Ms. Meng.” Meng’s bail hearing is scheduled for Friday, according to the department of justice. — With reporting by Kyle Duggan at kduggan@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Huawei CFO’s arrest renews political criticisms about 5G access

News | December 6, 2018

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Huawei CFO’s arrest renews political criticisms about 5G access

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