QUESTION PERIOD — Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Huawei--5G Technology
June 17, 2020
Honourable senators, my question is for the government leader. Senator Gold, the Trudeau government continues to drag its feet on making a decision on allowing Huawei to be part of Canada’s 5G network. To everyone else, this decision appears to be very clear, and we don’t understand why it is taking so long to come out and do the right thing and ban Huawei.
A story yesterday in The Globe and Mail may be shedding some light on at least part of the holdup: Huawei is already part of our system. Your government has known it, knows it and had been sitting on that knowledge for a while. Senator Gold, when did your government know about Telus’s use of Huawei equipment in their 4G network and why did the government hide that information from Canadians?
Thank you for your question, but the premise of your question is incorrect. To the best of my knowledge, the presence of Huawei in a 4G network in and around the Ottawa area, if my memory serves me correctly, is a matter of public record. So it is not the case that the government is hiding anything from Canadians. That is without question.
This government understands the importance of protecting Canada’s telecommunications systems. It is regularly engaged with the companies that provide telecommunications services on a variety of topics. It takes advice from its security experts — that’s also a matter of public record — and it will continue to do so as it grapples with the decision to which you referred.
Senator Gold, it’s a matter of public record because the media have reported it. The government did not make it public. Steven Chase at The Globe and Mail makes it quite clear that your government knows that Telus is not only using Huawei equipment but is doing so right here in Ottawa, as you rightfully point out, in 83 locations and in sensitive government locations and sites, for that matter. Huawei is nothing more than an arm of the Communist Chinese regime with no purpose other than to conduct espionage, and your government has opened the door and has invited them to the table, Senator Gold. Why won’t your government do the right thing and ban Huawei altogether from our 4G and 5G networks and get them out of our communications system?
Thank you for your question and for your ongoing persistence on issues surrounding around our relationship with China. I suppose it behooves me to remind this chamber yet again how complicated our relationship with China is, whether it’s with regard to our agricultural sector that has suffered significant hardship as a result of some actions that were taken on canola but, most importantly, with regard to the Canadians unfairly detained in China and others who are subjected to horrible penal consequences.
This government remains committed to ensuring our telecommunications networks and systems are safe and secure, and will take all necessary steps to ensure that remains the case.
