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Parliament passes Tory motion to demand government decision on Huawei, 5G

Nov 18, 2020 | 3:09 PM

OTTAWA — A united federal opposition has supported a Conservative motion to insist the Liberal government take a harder line against what it says are national-security threats from China.

The motion, sponsored by the Tory foreign-affairs critic Michael Chong, passed by a 179 votes to 146 and calls on the government to decide within 30 days on whether to allow China’s Huawei Technologies to supply equipment for Canada’s next generation 5G wireless networks.

It also calls on the government to table a plan within 30 days to deal with growing intimidation by China of Canadians within Canada’s borders. 

The Liberal government has delayed deciding on which companies can supply equipment for providers’ 5G networks since China imprisoned two Canadian men, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, nearly two years ago in apparent retaliation for the RCMP’s arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on a U.S. extradition warrant.

China blames the Trump administration for trying to undermine Huawei by targeting Meng, which has left Canada in the middle of a trade war between the world’s two major economic powers.

The U.S. says Huawei is an espionage arm of the Chinese military and has urged Canada and Western allies not to use its technology, but the company rejects that accusation.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 18, 2020.

The Canadian Press