Chinese telecom giant Huawei has confirmed that Conservative leadership candidate Jean Charest’s work for the company included “limited assistance” with the extradition case of chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou.
Huawei vice president of corporate affairs in Canada Alykhan Velshi said that while the company would not be wading into the Conservative leadership race, they felt compelled to clarify Charest’s role with them after receiving multiple questions about it.
“Huawei is grateful to Jean Charest and the team at (law firm) McCarthy Tetrault for their loyal advice and support since mid-2019,” said Velshi in a statement to Global News on Tuesday. “The firm’s strategic support has mainly focused on 5G and the Canadian business-regulatory environment.”
Velshi said that Charest had supported Huawei on a range of issues, which included “limited assistance” on Meng’s extradition case.
Charest’s previous work with Huawei – a company the Conservatives have called for years to be banned from Canada’s telecommunications networks over national security reasons – has become an issue for his candidacy.
True North reached out to Charest’s campaign to inquire further details about his involvement in the Chinese state company.
Charest spokesperson Michelle Coates Mather said while McCarthy Tetrault was hired to handle multiple issues, including 5G, his primary role was helping to free Kovrig and Spavor.
“Mr. Charest stands by his statement,” said Coates Mather. “He is very proud to have worked with the family of Michael Kovrig in the release of the two Michaels.”
If he becomes Conservative leader, Coates Mather said Charest will ban Huawei from the 5G network and order a national security review of all strategic natural resources and telecom infrastructure projects.
His involvement with the company was first questioned during the 2020 Conservative leadership race, which he ultimately declined to enter.
Huawei has been restricted from participating in future 5G networks by various countries over fears the Chinese government may require Huawei to conduct surveillance and steal secrets.
The telecom giant has denied these allegations, but its closeness with China and its willingness to carry out surveillance has been well documented by the press.
The Trudeau government has delayed a decision on Huawei’s participation in Canada’s 5G network.
Answering questions at his leadership campaign launch in Calgary last week, Charest declared that he was “proud” of the work he did with Huawei, saying he had helped to secure the release of Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who were detained by China soon after Meng’s arrest.
“What we did with Huawei, I’m very proud of what we did, in helping to sort out the situation of Ms. Meng Wanzhou” he said. “I worked with the family of Michael Kovrig, so that we could free the two Michaels.”
Charest said in a recent interview on “The Andrew Lawton Show” on True North that he did not represent China’s interests while working for Huawei.
“I worked to secure an agreement that would bring the two Michaels home,” Charest said on Monday. “I’m not apologizing for that, not a minute, because that’s what you do when you have this kind of responsibility and have an opportunity to help your country.”
This article was updated to include comment from Charest’s campaign, which was provided after the article was published.
