5G network | Canada closes its doors to Huawei

(Ottawa) After three years of procrastination, the Trudeau government has decided to ban the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei from the deployment of the 5G network in the country. A verdict that was expected by Canada’s allies, but which could again poison the relationship between Ottawa and Beijing.

Joel-Denis Bellavance
The Press

Melanie Marquis
The Press

Innovation, Science and Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne and Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino announced the decision on Thursday, after financial markets closed. They argued it was the culmination of “thorough” and “exhaustive” scrutiny by federal authorities and security agencies.

“Today, our government is announcing its intention to ban the use of Huawei and ZTE components and services in telecommunications systems in Canada,” Champagne said at a press conference.

He said telecommunications companies in Canada will no longer be allowed to use components or services in their network “that put our national security at risk.”

Companies that already use 5G components from Huawei will have to stop using them and withdraw them no later than June 28, 2024 – without compensation. The Minister pointed out that Canadian companies make little use of the Chinese giant’s products.

The announcement does not only affect 5G equipment, we note in a document made public after the ministerial announcement.

The government “expects telecommunications service providers to stop buying new 4G or 5G equipment by 1^er September 2022”, and it warns that “by December 31, 2027, it will be prohibited to use any new 4G equipment from Huawei or ZTE”.

Retaliation for an “easy target”?

Despite insistent questions from reporters, Mr. Champagne refused to say whether Canada should prepare for reprisals from the Chinese communist regime.

As recently as last December, China’s ambassador to Canada, Cong Peiwu, warned the Trudeau government, brandishing thinly veiled threats of retaliation if Huawei were banned. He also urged Canada to make a decision based “on business and not on national security”.

The Chinese Embassy in Canada reacted on its website Thursday evening by expressing Beijing’s “serious concern” and “strong dissatisfaction” with this decision taken “without any solid evidence”, which according to it constitutes “an attempt to cooperate with the United States to suppress Chinese companies”.

And it will “definitely damage” Canada’s “international image” and “its own interests”, it was warned, adding that “China will fully and seriously assess this incident and take all necessary measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises”.

Guy Saint-Jacques, former Canadian ambassador to China, would not be surprised if China got angry. “I expect Beijing to take retaliatory action. We had been warned, ”he slices. “They will choose a product that they can obtain elsewhere, and they will impose sanctions on imports,” adds the ex-diplomat in an interview.

He points out that this is still “paradoxical”, because China earlier this week lifted canola sanctions that had targeted two Canadian companies since 2019. And if allies like the United States or the United Kingdom were spared despite their refusal to open the door to Huawei, Canada is more vulnerable, says Saint-Jacques, who was stationed in Beijing from 2012 to 2016.

“Hostile actors” to control

Never mind: Huawei represents a risk to Canada’s national security, the government has concluded. And the federal government must do everything possible to protect national security “against the risks” posed by “many hostile actors who are ready to exploit weaknesses in our defenses,” Mendicino said, without naming China.

“From cyberattacks to electronic espionage to ransomware, the threats to Canadians are greater than ever. We will protect them. It is in this context that we must ensure that Canada’s telecommunications system is protected,” he said.

Why such a long delay before making this decision? “It was never a race. The important thing is to make the right decision”, argued more than once François-Philippe Champagne.

Huawei’s fate had been up in the air for many years.

Former Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale promised to settle the thorny issue in 2018, as members of the “Five Eyes” alliance declared one after another that Huawei posed a threat to their national security. .

This group set up to facilitate the sharing of information collected by the intelligence agencies of member countries is made up of the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

But China’s decision to jail two Canadians, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, in retaliation for the arrest of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou in December 2018 at the request of the United States has forced the Trudeau government to postpone any decision.

The two Michaels were finally released last October after more than 1,000 days of detention in harsh conditions. Their release and that of Meng Wanzhou, after the abandonment of the extradition request by the American authorities, cleared the way for Ottawa to finally decide the question.

However, it took about seven months to wait before knowing the verdict.

Opposition reactions

The Conservative Party, which has been hounding the Trudeau government for several years to remove Huawei from the rollout of 5G technology in the country, said it was time for Ottawa to announce its intentions.

“Our Five Eyes partners have been clear about the dangers of Huawei’s 5G network for nearly four years. Also, all the experts said so, ”said Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus.

NDP MP Brian Masse echoed these criticisms: “It took the Liberal government three years to make this decision when the other Five Eye countries made their position known much earlier. This delay has only raised serious questions at home and among our allies. »

“We welcome this belated decision from the federal government – ​​which was the only logical thing to do considering the warnings we received from national security experts,” commented Sébastien Lemire, Bloc Québécois spokesperson for security. ‘industry.