National Defence to probe past contracts awarded to firm now tied to China – National | 24CA News
The Department of National Defence (DND) says it’s investigating contracts beforehand awarded to a agency that now has reported ties to the Chinese authorities, as issues of overseas interference in Canada develop.
Ontario-based Sinclair Technologies, which designs and manufactures communications gear, was given contracts for DND work between 2009 and 2013. The 12 contracts, price $252,296 in whole, have been for work on “antennas, waveguides and related equipment,” procurement information exhibits.
National Defence headquarters, Maritime Forces Atlantic, Canadian Special Operations Forces Command headquarters and CFB Esquimalt have been listed as the first finish customers. A division official instructed Global News the contracts gave the impression to be primarily for antenna gadgets that amplify and obtain however don’t transmit info.
“We are aware of the concerns surrounding Sinclair Technologies. We are investigating these procurements and the way in which this equipment is used, alongside counterparts in other government departments,” a DND spokesperson stated Thursday.
“The government will take all measures necessary to ensure the security of our infrastructure.”
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Sinclair, whose mum or dad firm is owned by a business that has ties to the Chinese authorities, made headlines Wednesday after Radio-Canada reported on a contract it was awarded final yr for RCMP radio work.
That revelation drew criticism in Ottawa, and a promised overview by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose authorities just lately unveiled a coverage reset on how Canada handles funding, co-operation, competitors and strategic challenges posed by China.
Sinclair Technologies has been awarded 24 authorities contracts by Public Service and Procurement Canada (PSPC) since 2009. Aside from the DND, Sinclair has performed work for the RCMP and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Three of the 24 contracts have been awarded to the corporate since 2017, when Hytera Communications purchased Sinclair’s mum or dad firm, Norsat International. Two contracts given to Sinclair for RCMP work in 2013 and 2016 expired in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
The Chinese authorities owns about 10 per cent of Hytera via an funding fund, Radio-Canada reported on Dec. 7. That agency is blacklisted over nationwide safety issues by the United States Federal Communications Commission.
The $549,637 RCMP contract that made headlines this week was awarded to Sinclair on Oct. 6, 2021, for a radio frequency filtering system. Protecting the RCMP’s land-based radio communications from eavesdropping is without doubt one of the system’s functions. It is legitimate till March 31, 2024.
The RCMP instructed Global News in a press release Wednesday that radio frequency filtration gear “poses no security concerns nor does it allow access to radio communications.” PSPC instructed Radio-Canada it didn’t take safety issues and Sinclair’s possession into consideration through the bidding course of.
“The contract was awarded in accordance with federal government procurement policies and regulations, and in accordance with the trade agreements. PSPC acted as the contracting authority for the standing offer Arrangement. The RCMP supported PSPC to ensure operational requirements were met,” the RCMP stated.
The majority of the 11 RCMP contracts awarded to Sinclair through the years have been for “antennas, waveguides and related equipment.” Two contracts got for “radio and television communications equipment, except airborne.” While some RCMP contracts don’t have any worth related to them, one contract that was awarded in 2013 and expired in 2018 was price $1.5 million.
Sinclair was awarded a contract for Fisheries and Ocean in 2019 to do structural and prefabricated work. The contract was price $93,020 and expired in 2020.
PSPC, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Sinclair didn’t return a request for remark by publication time.
Radio-Canada’s revelation on Wednesday comes amid rising issues of overseas interference, together with felony fees being laid towards an worker of Hydro-Quebec for allegedly spying for China.
Trudeau stated in Montreal on Dec. 7 that it was “disconcerting” that federal civil servants awarded an RCMP contract to an organization with Chinese authorities ties. He and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino vowed to do an evaluation of the contract and its awarding course of.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre stated on Wednesday that the contract must be “banned and reversed” by the federal government as quickly as attainable.
Radio-Canada’s report is the most recent 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 aims in Canada.
Other intelligence sources instructed Global News that the consulate disbursed $250,000 via proxies to the community, which allegedly included an Ontario MPP and not less than 11 federal candidates and 14 staffers.
While the briefings didn’t conclude that Beijing funded any campaigns immediately, that’s how the difficulty 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 world wide, together with three in Toronto and not less than one in Vancouver, and the RCMP has since stated it’s investigating these stories.
Earlier in November, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly warned that 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 nations are exhibiting main financial progress.
The RCMP has stated overseas interference has emerged as a precedence for legislation enforcement, including that it’s working with at-risk sectors to enhance Canada’s response and resiliency.
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
