According to Radio-Canada, the contract for a system to secure terrestrial radio communications for the Canadian federal police for half a million Canadian dollars went in October 2021 to Sinclair Technologies, which is based in Ontario but has been controlled since 2017 by the Chinese company Hytera Communications.
Hytera Communications is partially owned by the Chinese government and its products are prohibited from sale in the United States. This is stoking concerns in Canada about possible Chinese access to Canadian police communications amid tensions between the two countries.
“I find it troubling that despite warnings from our security agencies about foreign interference in our institutions and our structures, Canadian officials have signed contracts whose level of security is questionable for our operations and for the national security of our institutions like the Canadian Federal Police,” Justin Trudeau said during a press conference on the sidelines of a UN biodiversity summit taking place in Montreal.
Federal procurement officials told Radio-Canada that national security was not considered when awarding the contract.
The Prime Minister said he has genuine questions for the officials who signed the contract and that his government plans to review security protocols related to tenders.
Other public servants in other parts of our government are signing contracts with companies that are unlikely to be reliable security partners, Mr. Trudeau denounced.
The government also needs to make sure Canada doesn’t strike deals with the lowest bidder and then expose us to security breaches, Mr Trudeau said.
We will follow this file, the prime minister stressed, promising to ensure that the communication technologies used by the government and its agencies are secure.
The RCMP expressed confidence that the system being installed would be secure.
The US Telecommunications Administration considers Hytera a threat to US national security. In November, it banned the sale of its new products in the American market, just like Huawei’s.
Hytera is also being sued in the US by its American competitor Motorola, who accuses it of industrial espionage, which it denies.
Charge in good standing of the opposition to the government
[De] bringing the proverbial fox into the proverbial chicken coop to gain access to the codes of the Canadian state’s most intimate security systems… And neither the Prime Minister nor the RCMP saw fit to receive or take the warning signals coming from Chicago a safe alternative to Canadian ownership, the leading bloquiste Yves-François Blanchet condemned.
The contract should be terminated. Justin Trudeau must take responsibility for it, he is at the head of the government and it is a government contract, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre protested to journalists shortly before Question Time on Wednesday. Mr. Poilievre sees a risk in allowing countries or companies owned by governments known for their espionage to sell technology destined for Canadian telecommunications.
“It’s worthy of a spy novel, but the characters in such a novel would never be so incompetent [que les personnes qui ont octroyé le contrat]. »
— A quote from Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative Party
The 21 spying allegations filed against Hytera in the United States should have raised concerns about Sinclair Technologies’ bid, he said, a reflection shared by New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh.
You would think Canada is following the right protocol to ensure that our information, however sensitive it may be in a federal law enforcement agency, is not subject to any serious threat or intrusion,” Mr Singh said. We must improve the process of protecting our privacy and the security of our information systems, especially since they are recognized as the main risk to our country’s security.