The federal government is reviewing a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) equipment contract with a company with ties to the Chinese government, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday.
Radio-Canada reports that Public Services and Procurement Canada last year awarded a $549,637 contract to Ontario-based Sinclair Technologies to build and maintain an RF filtering system. [filtrage RF] for the RCMP.
Sinclair Technologies’ parent company, Norsat International, has been owned by Chinese telecommunications company Hytera since 2017, and the Chinese government owns about 10% of Hytera through an investment fund.
While security and intelligence agencies “have spoken for many years about their concerns about foreign meddling and interference in our institutions,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he finds it baffling that other parts of the public service contract with questionable security levels for the RCMP.
“Other officials in other parts of our government are signing contracts with companies that are probably not reliable security partners,” Trudeau said Wednesday in Montreal on the sidelines. an announcement about conservation projects.
He said he had “real questions” for the officials who signed the contract and that his government plans to review security protocols in relation to tenders.
Quoted by Radio-Canada, Public Services and Procurement Canada said the contract did not include any security requirements and that company ownership was not part of the criteria.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission banned the use of Hytera technology for public safety, government security, and critical infrastructure surveillance purposes in 2021 when it was deemed a national security risk .
In February, Hytera was charged with 21 counts in an espionage case after officials alleged the company stole trade secrets from US competitor Motorola Solutions. Hytera denied the allegations.
“I find it amazing that Justin Trudeau’s contract system has allowed a company whose parent company in the United States is charged with 21 different espionage offenses to install technology on our police force’s system in order to block spying,” Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Wednesday in a rare exchange with the press outside the House of Commons.
The contract must be cancelled, said Mr. Poilievre, who insisted that the Prime Minister take responsibility.
“I mean, it’s almost something you’d expect to find in a spy novel, but characters in spy novels would never be so incompetent,” he said.
Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino said he had asked his staff to take a close look at the contract and review the award process.
“We have our eyes wide open to the threats posed by hostile states and non-state actors,” Mendicino said after a Liberal caucus meeting on Wednesday.
“One of the reasons we have put in place a process that examines potential opportunities or vectors for foreign interference in the context of contracts, is to protect the Canadian national interest, to guarantee our national security. »
Radio-Canada says the RCMP expressed confidence in the security of the system and that any contractors involved were required to obtain security clearance.
Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said the government must apply a level of scrutiny when it comes to “geopolitical challenges regarding China”.
“We have to stay more vigilant to prevent things like this, to understand why and how something can happen,” he argued outside the Liberal caucus meeting.
Conservative Deputy Whip Chris Warkentin called the contract “incomprehensible” and called for an immediate review.
“Just last week they made major announcements that they were going to take Canada’s security seriously. It violates every reasonable thought anyone would have about national security,” he said.
The RCMP, Sinclair Technologies and Public Services and Procurement Canada did not immediately respond to requests from The Canadian Press for comment.