Amidst all the turmoil of the arrest of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, Canada must decide what they are to do with Huawei, who Crown lawyers describe as the world’s largest telecommunications company. The firm employs 180,000 people in more than 170 countries and regions worldwide, including more than 700 people in Canada, which exasperates the situation. Ultimately, should we follow the lead of many of our allies and ban the telecommunications giant or will we continue to allow them to utilize our network, allowing them to infiltrate our networks or gain access to confidential information.
The Globe and Mail states that “New Zealand, Australia and the United States have already announced they will ban Huawei from participating in their next-generation mobile data networks. Britain has not yet formally banned Huawei, but its main telecom company, BT Group, has announced it will be stripping Huawei from its 3G and 4G operations and banning it from its 5G network. The director of Britain’s MI6 Alex Younger has even gone on the public record raising the issue of whether they’d be “comfortable with Chinese ownership of these technologies.” Taiwan, Japan and countries in Europe are also getting cold feet on Huawei.”
The worry about Huawei stems from their close relationship with the Chinese government, who have a propensity to take advantage when the opportunity arises in the cyber world. The Glove and Mail report that ” Poland’s Internal Security Agency has arrested and charged a Huawei employee with espionage. And recent news media reports reveal U.S. authorities are pursuing a criminal investigation of Huawei for stealing trade secrets of U.S. firms.” The likelihood of cyber espionage being undertaken is entirely likely and is nearly certain with the implementation of the China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law, which gives Beijing the power to compel Huawei’s support for its intelligence work.
Taking all this into consideration, do you think Canada should ban Huawei from the development of our 5G network?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/huawei-meng-extradition-questions-fraud-1.4943162