Trudeau said the government will also review its approach to procurement. A Radio-Canada investigation found that Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) awarded Sinclair Technologies a $549,637 contract last year to build and maintain a radio frequency (RF) filtering system for the Mounties. While Sinclair is based in Ontario, its parent Norsat International has been owned by Chinese telecommunications company Hytera since 2017. The Chinese government owns about 10 percent of Hytera through an investment fund. A sign outside the Sinclair Technologies office in Aurora, Ontario. As of 2017, the company is controlled by the Chinese telecommunications company Hytera, which is partially owned by the Chinese government. (Marc Godbout/Radio-Canada) The PSPC said, in response to Radio-Canada’s questions, that it did not consider Sinclair’s security or property concerns in the bidding process. Radio-Canada confirmed through sources with knowledge of the matter that the difference between Sinclair’s bid and that of its competitor, Quebec-based Comprod, was less than $60,000. Trudeau said Wednesday morning that his government will look into the matter and look at the role that security plays in government procurement. “Absolutely, we’re going to find out first and foremost what needs to be done to make sure that our communications technology is secure, but also to make sure that we understand how this could continue to happen and to make sure that Canada is not signing contracts with the highest bidder who then turn around and leave us exposed to security flaws,” he told a news conference. “We’re going to have some real questions about the independent public service that signed these contracts and we’re going to make sure that changes in the future. It’s time for that to happen.” WATCHES | Trudeau: ‘We’re going to have some real questions’ about RCMP equipment contract with China-linked company
Trudeau: ‘We’re going to have some real questions’ about RCMP equipment contract with China-linked company
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responds to report about federal contract for RCMP communications equipment awarded to company with ties to China Part of the RF system’s function is to secure RCMP ground radio communications. An RCMP spokesperson told Radio-Canada that installation of the equipment has begun in Ontario and Saskatchewan and that any contractor working on the equipment must obtain a security clearance. The news comes after Canadian national security organizations warned of threats to Canadian democracy and institutions from foreign actors, including China. The federal government also recently unveiled its Indo-Pacific strategy, which includes a plan to deal with an “increasingly disruptive” China. Trudeau said on Wednesday that he found it “disturbing” that while the security services were “advising us as a government and as Canadians that we should be very wary of foreign interference in our institutions … other parts of the public service were signing contracts that have questionable levels of security for our operations and national security institutions such as the RCMP.” WATCHES | Government is reviewing RCMP contract with China-linked company ‘very carefully’: Mendicino
Government is reviewing RCMP contract with China-linked company ‘very carefully’: Mendicino
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says his office will review a contract to provide and maintain RCMP communications equipment awarded to a company with ties to the Chinese government. Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said Wednesday that department officials are reviewing the RCMP contract. “We have our eyes wide open to the threats posed by hostile state and non-state actors, and that includes [China]”, he told a media scrum. “What I have done, in light of this report, is to instruct my staff to look very carefully at the details of this contract and also to work with our officials to review the process by which this contract was awarded.” A Sinclair Technologies executive declined an interview with Radio-Canada about the equipment and the contract, citing customer confidentiality. The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has banned the sale and importation of Hytera products in 2021, citing national security concerns. Hytera also faces 21 charges in a US espionage case. The United States Department of Justice charged the company with conspiring to steal trade secrets from the American telecommunications company Motorola. Hytera has denied the allegations.
Opposition leaders criticize the government for contracts
Speaking to reporters before question period on Wednesday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poiliev called on the government to end the contract and called on Trudeau to take responsibility for it. “Yes, it should be canceled, and Justin Trudeau is responsible. He is the head of government and this is a government contract,” Pulyev said. Poilievre said the US charges against Hytera should have been cause for concern about the Sinclair bid. He added that the government should limit its sources for equipment purchases. “We as a government, we as a country, should not allow countries and state-owned enterprises known for spying to sell technology related to our telecommunications,” Poilievre said. WATCHES | “He is the head of the government and this is a government contract”: Poilievre
“He is the head of the government and this is a government contract”: Poilievre
Reacting to news of a China-linked contract for RCMP communications equipment, Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling for it to be canceled and calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to explain how it happened. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said the US government’s decision to blacklist Hytera should have been a red flag to the federal government. “You would think that Canada would follow the proper protocol to make sure that our information, as sensitive as it is with a federal police agency, is not subject to a serious threat or breach,” Singh told a news conference. “I am deeply concerned, I think there is a real danger here and it shows that the government did not take the proper steps to control this project or company.” WATCHES | Singh calls RCMP equipment contract with China-linked company “shocking.”
Singh calls RCMP equipment contract with China-linked company “shocking.”
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is responding to a report about a federal contract for RCMP communications equipment awarded to a company with ties to China. Singh called on the government to make changes to its procurement process. “There needs to be a better process to protect our privacy and our security for our information systems—especially since this is now recognized as the most significant security risk to our country,” Singh said. Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Wednesday the government should investigate the RCMP contract. “We have to remain more vigilant to prevent things like this and understand why and how something can happen at a time when we know we have to take care of the geopolitical challenges in relation to China,” Champagne said Wednesday in a media briefing. information. . “So we have to be very careful about what happened, and I think every branch of government has to implement that level of scrutiny.”
