Procrastination over Huawei | O’Toole accuses Ottawa of damaging Canada’s image in the United States

(Ottawa) The Trudeau government is undermining efforts to solidify the supply chain in North America by maintaining an ambiguous foreign policy towards China, says Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole.

Joël-Denis Bellavance
Press

The Trudeau government’s procrastination over Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei’s participation in the deployment of 5G technology in the country greatly erodes Canada’s credibility vis-à-vis the United States and other strategic allies, O argued. ‘Toole as an example.

The global supply chain, which relies heavily on factories located in China, has been severely disrupted due to the pandemic. Voices were raised to re-establish in North America a production chain for products deemed essential in order to reduce this dependence on foreign countries.

It has been more than three years since the Trudeau government promised to rule on the role that the Chinese giant could play in the country’s telecommunications sector. However, the United States has declared Huawei a threat to its national security. They suspect the company of serving as a front for Chinese military intelligence and the Communist Party in Beijing. Huawei has consistently rejected these accusations.

Canada is thus the only member of the Allied Five Eyes intelligence network, which includes the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, not yet to have imposed a ban on Huawei.

As a result, there is a certain mistrust in Washington in the Canadian government because it has shown itself incapable of making crucial decisions on strategic issues like Huawei, argued the Conservative leader in an interview with Press.

Worse yet, the Canadian government has sanctioned the sale of some Canadian companies to Chinese state corporations that are accountable to the Communist regime in power in Beijing.

“There is a crisis in our relationship with the United States. And it wasn’t fair under Donald Trump. We have to work to resolve the supply chain with the United States. We have seen a reduction in our economic ties with the United States, and not just on the issue of softwood lumber, supply management or automobiles. We just have to think of the Buy American clause, ”listed Mr. O’Toole.

“For more than 50 years, we have worked with the Americans, particularly in industries such as the automobile. The factories in Quebec and Ontario are very integrated with those in Michigan or Pennsylvania. The Trudeau government’s stance on China hurts us. Things are going badly on the side of the Americans. We are now isolated, ”added the leader of the Conservative Party.

“We must stand together”

Mr. O’Toole said he also spoke on this subject four years ago with US elected officials during a visit to Washington. Already, he was being asked a lot of questions about the Canadian government’s position on China.

“We are close allies of the United States. And we must form a common front with them on China, ”he said.

In March 2020, an American delegation even arrived in Ottawa to discuss this thorny issue with various ministers and representatives of the Canadian government.

Behind the scenes, it is speculated that the Trudeau government has postponed any decision on Huawei so as not to undermine efforts to secure the release of two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, arbitrarily detained in China for nearly three years. .

The two men were released in October after the release of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested by Canadian authorities in Vancouver in December 2018 at the request of the United States, which was demanding his extradition.

In November, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, announced that Canada’s decision in the case of 5G network suppliers would be announced within a few weeks. The move, which could spark new sparks in China-Canada relations, is now expected to fall early in the new year.

“National security is the priority when we approach an issue like this. We often think of infrastructure as being bridges and roads, but network infrastructure and telecommunications networks are really the way of the future, ”said Mr. Champagne.

Already, the Chinese ambassador to Canada, Cong Peiwu, is increasing the warnings to the Trudeau government. Until recently, he argued that it would be in Canada’s best interest to ignore the US “fabricated” warnings about Huawei.