RCMP contract awarded to firm reportedly tied to China ‘disconcerting,’ Trudeau says – National | 24CA News
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says a report that federal civil servants awarded an RCMP contract for communications tools to an organization with Chinese authorities ties is “disconcerting.”
The prime minister made the feedback to reporters in Montreal on Wednesday after Radio-Canada printed a narrative on how the federal authorities awarded a contract to an Ontario-based firm whose dad or mum firm is Hytera Communications. That agency is blacklisted over nationwide safety issues by the United States Federal Communications Commission.
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“I find it disconcerting that while parts of the government’s security agencies were advising us as a government, and as Canadians, that we have to be very careful about foreign interference … that other parts of the civil service were signing contracts that have questionable levels of security for our operations and our national security institutions, like the RCMP,” Trudeau mentioned.
“We’re going to be following up on this, finding out what needs to be done to ensure that our communications technology is secure, but also make sure we’re figuring out how this could continue to happen and make sure that Canada is not signing contracts with the lowest bidder that then turn around and leave us exposed to security flaws.
“We will have some real questions for the independent public service that signed these contracts, and we’ll make sure that this is changed going forward. It’s high time that happens.”
The report comes amid rising issues of overseas interference, together with prison expenses being laid in opposition to an worker of Hydro-Quebec for allegedly spying for China, and amid a Canadian coverage reset on how the federal authorities handles funding, cooperation, competitors and strategic challenges posed by China.
On Oct. 6, 2021, Ottawa awarded Sinclair Technologies a contract value $549,637 for a radio frequency filtering system, Radio-Canada first reported. Protecting the RCMP’s land-based radio communications from eavesdropping is without doubt one of the system’s functions.
The firm has been managed by Hytera Communications since 2017, Radio-Canada reported. The Chinese authorities owns about 10 per cent of Hytera by an funding fund.
Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), which awarded the contract, mentioned it didn’t take safety issues and Sinclair’s possession into consideration in the course of the bidding course of, Radio-Canada reported. The RCMP informed the outlet it’s assured its techniques stay safe.
Global News independently verified a contract with Sinclair Technologies matching that date and for that quantity, however has not independently verified particulars of Radio-Canada report.
“We count as a government on independent civil servants to sign contracts and ensure rigorous processes of evaluations of partners on a range of initiatives that the government requires, whether it be procurement or others,” Trudeau mentioned.
“Obviously, we have to ensure that it is explicitly spelled out that sensitive contracts that indicate issues of national security need to be provided to only reliable sources of procurement. We will look at whether our communication systems are compromised.”
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino additionally echoed Trudeau’s issues Wednesday afternoon in Ottawa, saying the federal government is starting an evaluation of the contract and its awarding course of.
“It goes without saying that we need to be very vigilant about where the vectors of risk and foreign interference are occurring on a daily basis and that is why we put this process in place around how contracts are awarded by PSPC and other branches,” he mentioned.
Radio-Canada’s report is the newest in a string of tales on alleged Chinese interference and affect in Canada.
Global News reported in November that Trudeau and members of his cupboard have been allegedly briefed in January 2022 that the Chinese Consulate in Toronto directed a clandestine election-interference community in 2019, which intelligence sources allege is a loosely affiliated group of Liberals and Conservatives funded by the Chinese Communist Party to assist advance its political goals in Canada.
Other intelligence sources informed Global News that the consulate disbursed $250,000 by proxies to the community, which allegedly included an Ontario MPP and at the least 11 federal candidates and 14 staffers.
While the briefings didn’t conclude that Beijing funded any campaigns straight, that’s how the problem has been interpreted at instances within the political debate within the House of Commons.
Furthermore, A Spanish civil rights group, Safeguard Defenders, revealed in a current report that there have been Chinese police operations around the globe, together with three in Toronto and at the least one in Vancouver, and the RCMP has since mentioned it’s investigating these experiences.
Earlier in November, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly warned Canadians ought to take into account the “geopolitical risks” of doing business in China. She later launched Ottawa’s long-awaited Indo-Pacific technique final month, calling China an “increasingly disruptive global power” in a area the place a number of international locations are exhibiting main financial progress.
The RCMP has mentioned overseas interference has emerged as a precedence for regulation enforcement, including that it’s working with at-risk sectors to enhance Canada’s response and resiliency.
On Wednesday, Trudeau mentioned it was too quickly to inform what actions Ottawa would take following Radio-Canada’s reporting.
“Obviously, we’re just looking into it right now, following on this report, and we will make sure that we take the necessary steps,” he mentioned.
“But it’s too early to say what the necessary steps to ensure the integrity of our communication systems could be.”
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
