Open Letter from Conservative Shadow Ministers for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness on Huawei
December 9, 2019, Ottawa, ON – Today, Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative Shadow Minister for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, and Glen Motz, Conservative Associate Shadow Minister for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness sent the following letter to Public Safety Minister, Bill Blair, calling for a status update on Huawei:
Minister Blair,
Canadians in all regions of the country along with the private sector and the security industry have been waiting on your government to take a position on Huawei and its possible participation in the construction of the Canadian 5G network. We are writing to you on their behalf to hopefully get answers.
As you know, the former minister of Public Safety, Ralph Goodale, had stated in May 2019 that your government would decide before the October federal election. Later, the media reported that the decision would be postponed until after the election, but Canadians were not told why.
Many of our allies are already on the list of countries that have banned Huawei from their 5G networks, and the list keeps growing. As a G7 country, Canada’s decision and its potential impact on our relationship with our international friends, and the information we share with them, will be considerable. Canada cannot delay any further.
The U.S. national security adviser has urged Canada not to use Huawei 5G technology as it would put in jeopardy intelligence sharing with the United States and expose Canadians to being profiled by the Chinese government.
Australia has blocked Huawei from providing equipment for its 5G network and it has advised India to ban Huawei as well from supplying parts for a rollout of a high-speed telecommunications network.
We have also seen Denmark expel two Huawei staff and the European Union is considering proposals that would effectively amount to de-facto ban on Huawei equipment for next-generation mobile networks. Japan’s government has also effectively banned China’s Huawei from official contracts and New Zealand’s top intelligence agency has banned Huawei from supplying equipment for the country’s first 5G mobile network in November 2018. As we said Minister, the list of countries banning Huawei is growing at a staggering rate.
Canadians expect answers on why this decision has been, and continues to be, delayed. As we stated earlier, Canada is a G7 country and its government must govern itself accordingly.
On behalf of Canadians, the private sector and other stakeholders, we appreciate your attention to this matter. We await your response.