A recent research partnership was struck between Ottawa and Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications giant, despite fears over security and theft of intellectual property that stain the company’s reputation.
This partnership, the existence of which was revealed by the Globe and Mail Monday, will take the form of a host of research projects disseminated through several universities in the country for the development of advanced technologies.
According to the “Globe”, Ottawa, through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (CRSNC), will put an amount of approximately $ 4.8 million on the table. For its part, Huawei did not want to reveal the height of its contribution, but held to say that it “exceeded $ 4.8 million”.
“It shows a blatant lack of judgment on the part of Justin Trudeau, who thought it was a good idea to spend $ 4.8 million to partner with Huawei. He must do the right thing and immediately withdraw this funding, ”demanded Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole.
“It is clear to our allies, national security experts and Canadians that Huawei poses a direct threat to our national security interests,” he added.
Canada is an exception among its Western allies. It is the only “Five Eyes” country – United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand – not to have formally banned the purchase of advanced equipment from Huawei to establish its 5G network. In addition, note that many universities in the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe have refused such partnerships with Huawei for security reasons, unlike Canada.
Recall that Canada has arrested, at the request of the United States, the financial director of Huawei, Meng Wanzhou, who has been detained at her home in Vancouver since the end of 2018 while defending herself against an extradition procedure before the courts
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marc Garneau, defended at a press briefing the partnership with Huawei, explaining that the decision fell to the CRSNC, “an independent organization whose mandate is to finance promising research in science and engineering”, according to him.
“Sometimes,” he added, “this involves co-financing not only with universities, but also with the private sector. That said, we have a process in place to educate researchers and organizations like the CRSNC of the importance of ensuring that Canadian intellectual property is protected. […].»
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