Just say no, prime minister
Justin Trudeau ducked and dived on Thursday when asked directly — twice — whether Ottawa will allow Huawei Technologies of China to be part of Canada’s fifth-generation, or 5G, wireless network.
The prime minister did everything he could not to answer the questions. He strung together words about having extensive conversations on the subject, weighing various considerations, listening to everyone involved … and so on.
We have good news for him: He can stop wringing his hands over this decision and simply say no.
The world has moved on, and what was once arguably a complicated calculation involving advanced technology, global business, security concerns and diplomatic imperatives has become a lot simpler.
Everything is pointing in one direction: Canada can’t trust Huawei, and along with it the Chinese government, to have a significant role in what will be a key part of our economic infrastructure, the backbone of the coming “Internet of things” that will take digital connection to the next level.
The federal government has been pondering this issue for more than two years, kicking the can down the road in apparent hope that events would eventually evolve to the point where the decision would be made for it.
Well, that moment arrived this week. Two of the country’s biggest telecom providers, Bell Canada and Telus Corp., announced they are signing deals with Huawei’s European rivals, Ericsson of Sweden and Nokia of Finland, to be suppliers for their new 5G networks.
Rogers Communications, the third big Canadian telecom, long ago decided that Huawei was a bad bet, so that effectively leaves the Chinese company shut out of the Canadian 5G market.
Bell and Telus could read the tea leaves as well as anyone.
Until this week they were publicly committed to Huawei, on the grounds that it has the best technology at the best price. They dismissed arguments that allowing a Chinese company to build core elements of the new economy would make Canada vulnerable to manipulation or worse from Beijing. Chinese law, after all, obliges its companies to “support, cooperate with and collaborate in national intelligence work” when required to by the government.
But the tide was turning against China and Huawei, and the telecoms clearly didn’t want to get in deeper and then have the rug pulled out from under them. They couldn’t afford to wait for Ottawa to make up its mind — or at least to announce whatever was in its mind.
Canada’s allies, too, have made up their minds. The United States has pointedly warned Ottawa against allowing Huawei in, and says it would put in doubt intelligence-sharing through the so-called Five Eyes network. Two of our other Five Eyes partners, Australia and New Zealand, have turned thumbsdown on Huawei as well.
Britain, the fifth “Eye,” decided in January to give Huawei a limited role in 5G. But Boris Johnson’s government is now rethinking that decision and, according to reports, is looking to NEC Corp. and Samsung as alternate suppliers.
What’s tipped the balance against Huawei is the behaviour of China’s government throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Other governments are discovering how Beijing withheld or manipulated information about the disease, and they see how it’s using the pandemic to throw its weight around. Trust in China’s word is at a low point — and that’s tainting Huawei as well.
Canada has its own issues with the company, given the detention of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver at U.S. request.
Ottawa clearly didn’t want to provoke Beijing by delivering a negative verdict on Huawei for fear of making relations between the countries even worse and killing hopes of releasing the “two Michaels” imprisoned in China.
That’s not a bad motive, but at this point there’s little hope that even a favourable decision on Huawei would do much for them.
The ship has sailed on Huawei in Canada, and the prime minister might as well acknowledge that reality.
The tide was turning against China and Huawei, and Bell and Telus clearly didn’t want to get in deeper and then have the rug pulled out from under them