Canada
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Government will review RCMP contract awarded to China-linked company, Trudeau says

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government will investigate an RCMP equipment contract awarded to a company with ties to China's government — and will also re-examine its approach to procurement.

A Radio-Canada investigation found that Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) awarded Sinclair Technologies a contract worth $549,637 last year to build and maintain a radio frequency (RF) filtering system for the Mounties.

While Sinclair is based in Ontario, its parent company Norsat International has been owned by Chinese telecommunications firm Hytera since 2017. The Chinese government owns about 10 per cent of Hytera through an investment fund.

A sign outside Sinclair Technologies office in Aurora, Ontario. Since 2017, the company has been controlled by Chinese telecommunications firm Hytera, which is partly owned by the Chinese government. (Marc Godbout/Radio-Canada)

PSPC said in response to Radio-Canada's inquiries that it did not consider security concerns or Sinclair's ownership in the bidding process. Radio-Canada confirmed through sources with knowledge of the matter that the difference between Sinclair's bid and that of its competitor, Quebec-based Comprod, was less than $60,000.

Trudeau said Wednesday morning that his government will look into the matter and will examine the role security plays in government procurement.

"Absolutely, we're going to be finding out first of all 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," he told a news conference.

"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."

Part of the RF system's function is to secure the RCMP's land-based radio communications. An RCMP spokesperson told Radio-Canada that installation of the equipment has started in Ontario and Saskatchewan, and that any contractor working on the equipment has to get a security clearance.

The news comes after Canadian national security organizations have warned about threats to Canadian democracy and institutions posed by foreign actors, including China. The federal government also recently unveiled its Indo-Pacfic Strategy, which includes a plan to confront an 'increasingly disruptive' China.

Trudeau said Wednesday he finds it "disconcerting" that while security agencies were "advising us as a government and as Canadians that we have to be very careful about foreign interference in our institutions ... 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."

A Sinclair Technologies executive declined an interview with Radio-Canada on the equipment and the contract, citing customer confidentiality.

U.S. banned Chinese firm linked to RCMP contract

The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) banned the sale and import of Hytera products in 2021, citing national security concerns.

Hytera is also facing 21 charges in an American espionage case.  The United States Department of Justice has accused the company of conspiring to steal trade secrets from American telecommunications company Motorola. Hytera has denied the allegations.

Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Wednesday that the government should investigate the RCMP contract.

"We need to remain more vigilant to prevent things like that, and understand the why and how something can happen at a moment where we know that we have to take care of geopolitical challenges with respect to China," Champagne said Wednesday in a media scrum.

"So we need to be very mindful of what happened and I think every branch of government needs to apply that level of scrutiny."