Ottawa cracks down on research links with foreign militaries, states like China – National | 24CA News

The federal authorities will cease funding grant functions if the researchers engaged on them are affiliated with a overseas navy, state safety entities or sure overseas state actors, citing a necessity to guard Canadian nationwide safety.

Ottawa made the announcement Tuesday night, and following a report from The Globe and Mail final month that since 2005, 50 Canadian universities have had in depth analysis collaborations with China’s navy. The tasks with China’s National University of Defence Technology included areas like quantum cryptography, photonics and house science, the newspaper reported.

Now, Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne says defending Canadian analysis is a matter of nationwide safety and cited “recent events” when requested concerning the resolution.

“It’s the right thing to do. I mean, we’ve seen recent events. There have been reports,” Champagne stated with out referencing any particular report or occasion.

“That’s something that Canadians expect from us, to make sure that we take strong measures. This is a strong response to face the reality of today and making sure that research security in this country will have proper framework around it. On one end, we respect the freedom of research, but at the same time, we protect the interest and our national security.”

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Champagne and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino stated in a press launch saying the choice that federal grants “in a sensitive research area will not be funded if any of the researchers working on the project are affiliated with a university, research institute or laboratory connected to military, national defence or state security entities of foreign state actors that pose a risk Canadian national security.”

While the news launch made no point out of a particular state, a spokesperson with Champagne’s workplace confirmed the coverage will embrace, however not be restricted to, establishments and entities in China.

“This enhanced policy will be implemented rapidly and in close consultation with our departments, Canada’s national security agencies and the research community,” the ministers stated Tuesday night time.

Canadian relations with China have been uneasy for a number of years, intensifying in current months over allegations of makes an attempt to affect and intervene in Canadian affairs.

Most not too long ago, a suspected Chinese spy balloon violated Canadian and American airspace, forcing NORAD – the continental defence community – to retool its radar, prompting the shootdowns of three unidentified objects over the U.S. and Canada. It’s nonetheless unclear what these objects have been, and search efforts for them are ongoing.

China has rejected the declare it was a spy balloon, saying it was an plane used for climate functions.

Regardless, relations with China stay tense and late final yr, RCMP charged a former Hydro-Québec worker with allegedly acquiring commerce secrets and techniques for the Chinese authorities and alleged the person carried out analysis for Chinese universities and filed patents based mostly on the outcomes that undermined Hydro-Quebec mental property.

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Global News reported on Nov. 7, 2022 that Canadian intelligence officers had warned Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that China has allegedly been concentrating on Canada with an unlimited marketing campaign of overseas interference, in keeping with Global News sources.

Furthermore, the RCMP has requested anybody with expertise of Chinese affect by so-called “police stations” believed to be working in Canada to return ahead.

After Global News’ report broke, Trudeau stated the federal government has “taken significant measures to strengthen the integrity of our elections processes and our systems,” including that Ottawa will “continue to invest in the fight against election interference, against foreign interference of our democracy and institutions.”

Trudeau additionally introduced up alleged interference in interactions with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the G20 in Bali, Indonesia, late final yr. Xi later confronted Trudeau about the way it was “not appropriate” that particulars of these conversations had been shared with news organizations.

Doing so is the norm in Canadian politics.

Late final yr, Ottawa launched its long-awaited Indo-Pacific technique, with Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly calling China an “increasingly disruptive global power” in a area the place a number of nations are displaying main financial progress.

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