The U.S. national security advisor has urged Canada to not use Huawei for the deployment of 5G because it would jeopardize intelligence sharing between the two countries.
The national security advisor, Robert O’Brien, says that allowing Huawei to participate would expose Canadians to being profiled by the Chinese government.
He says that letting Huawei participate in Canada’s future roll-out of 5G would be like allowing a “Trojan horse into the city.”
“When they (the Chinese) get Huawei into Canada or into other Western countries, they’re going to know every health record, every banking record, every social media post, they’re going to know everything about every single Canadian,” O’Brien told reporters according to Reuters.
Newly sworn-in Public Safety Minister Bill Blair has said that there is no timeline regarding when Canada will make a decision on its Huawei 5G review. He said that although it is a priority, he is unsure when a decision will be made.
Huawei’s relationship with Canada became hostile when Vancouver authorities arrested its chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou in December 2018. She currently awaits extradition to the U.S. to face a trial.
China has also detained two Canadians in a move that is believed to be retaliation for arresting Meng. The country alleges they were part of a national security threat.
Huawei Canada’s president says that the company will incur a significant loss if it is banned from participating in 5G infrastructure development across the country, but stated that it will continue its investment in Canada regardless.
Huawei executives recently have also insisted the company’s lobbying and Canadian strategy moving forward will be “diplomatically forceful.”
Source: Reuters
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