US Senators Call Huawei Telecoms Giant a "Real Threat", Urging Trudeau to Block It

Two US senators wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to warn him that dealing with Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei would pose a huge security risk.

Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democrat Senator Mark Warner want Canada to do the same with the United States and Australia and is preventing Huawei from providing equipment to connect Canadians to the ultra-fast 5G mobile network.

In a statement to As it happens, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale's office said, "The problems are well understood, the safety of Canadians is our number one concern."

Huawei Canada did not respond to a request for comment, but in March of this year, the company As it happens"We have been working openly and transparently with the Canadian government since 2008. There has never been a problem."

Warner, vice chairman of the US Senate Special Committee on Intelligence, spoke with As it happens host Carol Off. Here is part of their conversation.

Why should Canada get tired of doing business with Huawei?

Because so many Chinese companies are indirectly controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), by the government, they are ultimately not loyal to their shareholders or their board of directors.

In the end, they must adhere to government protocols.

Especially in the telecommunications sector – Huawei, ZTE – are beginning to spread around the world with cheap products, but often with the possibility for the Chinese government to withdraw when they later update their technologies, for create a lot of vulnerabilities that frankly … poses a national security problem.

In our own country, our security experts say that they have put in place measures to prevent these detours. … Why do not you trust our country to protect the security of the system?

It's an evolving threat.

My fear is that even if there are no known vulnerabilities when you buy the equipment today, you can send these software updates without the equipment owner looking at them, and these software updates could include vulnerabilities.

But again, Canada argues that our relationship with telecommunications providers is advanced. We have these guarantees, and there are many examples of Canada taking the threat seriously. … So, what is your proof that Huawei is where we have to draw the line in the sand?

I think what Canada has done in terms of investments is appropriate. I am not trying to launch a new challenge with China.

But I think what the US government needs to do – and frankly, in close cooperation with its closest allies like Canada – is to make sure we share those technical concerns.

In the United States, for example, three years ago, telecommunication equipment of this type in China was radically different from what they are today, because the Chinese government has become much more aggressive. You have equipment whose price is lower than the market in order to take control of the markets.

And the last thing you want is to wake up, three to five years later, with all that equipment built into a new generation 5G network, and then say, "Oh my God, all this is vulnerable. And literally, the cost and difficulty of removing everything would be really prohibitive.

You know, your US trade negotiators said that our steel exports from Canada to the United States posed a threat to security. Your president does not hurt this threat to national security, so do not you think it's a little exaggerated at this point?

As proud of my mother's entire Ontario family, I can assure you that the vast majority of members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, believe that Mr. Trump was 100% wrong in talking about national security. problems.

This dispute between the Trump administration and the Trudeau government must be resolved. But that should not take away the growing consensus of our senior security officials.

Frankly, I would be surprised if Canadian intelligence does not feel more and more convinced that they too would express concerns about this Chinese equipment.

Do you think it is difficult to make these requests, to engage Canada in this way, given the current state of our relationship?

I think the relationship needs to be fixed.

But if Canada takes this direction – and will spend hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars – to buy this equipment that may be vulnerable to national security – it is not good for Canada. It's not good for the United States.

Written by Jeanne Armstrong and John McGill. Produced by Jeanne Armstrong. The questions and answers have been changed for reasons of length and clarity.