Canada decided to ban Huawei from 5G networks after 3 years of delay

Canadian Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne and Canadian Minister of Public Security Marco Mendicino hold a press conference on May 19 – Photo: CBC

On May 19, Canada joined key intelligence allies such as the United States, expressing concern about the impact of allowing Huawei access to 5G systems on national security.

The government is also banning ZTE, another telecommunications company believed to be backed by the Chinese government.

The government’s decision has been in the making for a long time. Then-Canadian Public Security Minister Ralph Goodale promised to make a decision on Huawei before the 2019 federal election.

According to CBC, Ottawa has set a deadline of June 28, 2024 for companies to remove Huawei and ZTE equipment from their 5G systems.

In a notice posted online, the Government of Canada also announced that businesses must remove any 4G equipment from the two Chinese companies by the deadline of December 31, 2027.

Ottawa expects businesses in Canada to stop buying new 4G and 5G equipment from these companies by September this year.

“This is the right decision. We’re excited to announce it today because it will protect our networks for generations to come,” Canada’s Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said in a statement. a press conference on May 19.

Champagne thinks banning the Chinese telecom company will help keep Canadians safe.

Responding to a question about the risk of a Chinese government response, Mr. Champagne said: “Let me be clear, this is Canada. This is our national security. This is our telecommunications infrastructure. “.

At the end of 2021, the Chinese ambassador to Canada warned that banning Huawei from 5G systems would send a “very wrong signal” to Chinese businesses.

The ambassador also said that the above story was politicized and abused the concept of national security, affecting business operations in Canada.

Also at a press conference on May 19, Canadian Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino said the decision marks “a new era in protecting the telecommunications industry” of Canada. The government took a close look at the issue of 5G and wireless technologies to make its decision.

According to Mendicino, Canada is about to announce new legislation coming soon to protect 5G networks. The legislation is expected to establish a better framework for protecting Canada’s national security-critical systems and provide new tools for the government to respond to emerging cyber threats.

Minister Mendicino announced the new law will also help protect infrastructure in the financial, energy and transport sectors.