In September 2018, Canada first announced its plans to review potential national security threats posed by adopting Huawei products.
Surprisingly, later in 2018, Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer, Meng Wanzhou, was charged with fraud and arrested in Canada with a United States warrant.
According to the rumors, this led to diplomatic tension between China and Canada, as two Canadians were arrested on the grounds of espionage in Beijing and released in September 2021, the same day Huawei’s CFO was released.
Just when it seemed like the diplomatic tension between China and Canada had eased, The Canadian government banned the use of China’s Huawei and ZTE’s equipment in its 5G networks on claims to protect its national security.
The Canadian industry minister, Francois-Philippe Champagne, announced the restrictions against Huawei and ZTE on May 20, 2022. He said, “We intend to exclude Huawei and ZTE from our 5G networks, “Providers who already have this equipment installed will be required to cease its use and remove it under the plans we’re announcing today.”
Also, a government policy statement posted online says companies have until June 28, 2024, to dismiss or discontinue the use of 5G equipment from Huawei and ZTE.
Consequently, this move makes Canada the latest member of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance to have placed constraints on the use of Huawei and ZTE equipment in their communication networks.
The United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand are all members of the Five Eyes, which evolved during the Cold War to monitor the Soviet Union and share classified information.
As expected, China expressed its criticism of this decision, “We will take all necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate interests of Chinese firms,” Wang Wenbin, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, told reporters in Beijing on Friday.
Furthermore, the Chinese embassy spokesperson in Canada accused Canada of working with the United States to suppress Chinese companies, saying the alleged security concerns were a “pretext for political manipulation.”
In addition to the ban, Marco Mendicino, Canada’s Public Safety Minister, said Canada would formulate new legislation to protect crucial financial, telecommunications, energy, and transport infrastructure from cyber threats.
Time and Time again, western countries have acted to protect their citizen’s information and safeguard national security; this makes one wonder If Africa will ever regulate the activities of these tech giants? When will African countries explore limiting foreign industrial plays to allow local indigenous players to grow by offering the same services?
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Image Source – Huawei
