The federal government will not be deciding if the Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei should have access to Canada’s 5G network until after October’s federal election, according to a CBC report..
A CBC story citing anonymous sources said the government will almost certainly leave the issue until later this year or next year given the tensions between Canada and China.
While Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale has previously indicated that Canada will be taking its time with the Huawei decision, sources indicate that the decision might be pushed back a staggering amount of months at an important time for 5G in Canada.
This move would mean the government could avoid dealing with the contentious issue until the election is over.
Despite mounting evidence and numerous security experts suggesting there are serious security concerns about Huawei, the federal government has continuously dragged its feet with the issue.
Huawei has already been banned in the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and is heavily restricted in the United Kingdom.
True North has reported on the various security concerns Huawei and its technology pose.
Among these concerns were the telecommunications firm’s connection to the Chinese government, the presence of the Chinese Communist Party in its organization and its refusal to cooperate with investigations done by other countries in the past.
Huawei became the centre of another controversy in Canada when Canadian authorities arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on an American warrant in January.
China quickly retaliated by arresting two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, depriving them of legal rights.
The anonymous sources claim that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is hesitant to decide on Huawei until the Chinese make clear the fate of the Canadian detainees.
The Canadian government has so far failed to bring them home, meanwhile, China continues to hurl abuse at our country.
As True North’s Leo Knight has reported, given the clear the security concerns Huawei poses, and the attacks China has made against Canada to spare a Huawei executive from punishment, the decision to ban Huawei should be a no-brainer.
The federal government has yet to publicly comment on the report.
