16 June 2022

Canada is banning two of China’s Telecoms, Huawei and ZTE from working on its 5G phone networks, calling the move “the right decision”.

The ban means Canadian telecoms firms will no longer be allowed to use equipment made by the two telecom equipment giants and comes after a review of Huawei equipment back in September 2018 by the Canadian authorities.

Minister of innovation, science and industry Francois-Philippe Champagne said the move would “protect the safety and security of Canadians”.

Huawei has come under increased pressure in recent years as the US cracks down on Chinese companies that it believes are enabling or undertaking activities that could threaten its national security.

The UK, US, Australia and New Zealand have all banned or restricted the companies on their high-speed networks.

“Let me be very clear: We will always protect the safety and security of Canadians and will take any actions necessary to safeguard our telecommunication infrastructure,” Champagne told reporters. “In a 5G world, at a time where we rely more and more in our daily lives (on) our network, this is the right decision.”

A spokesperson for Huawei Canada said the Chinese firm met the news with huge disappointment.

“This is an unfortunate political decision that has nothing to do with cyber security or any of the technologies in question,” the spokesperson added. “Over the past 13 years, Huawei Canada has devoted itself to helping Canadian carriers build out their wireless networks and provide quality services for the Canadian people. Huawei equipment, including both hardware and software, has been routinely and closely scrutinized by the government and its security agencies according to stringent quality standards. There have been zero security incidents caused by Huawei equipment throughout this entire period.”

The spokesperson said Huawei is “proud” of its security record in Canada.