The RCMP has suspended a controversial contract it had awarded to a Canadian company whose parent organization has ties to the Chinese government, CTV News has confirmed.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino’s office told CTV News on Thursday that the contract the RCMP inked in October 2021, worth $549,637, with Ontario-based Sinclair Technologies Inc. for radio frequency filters, is now on pause.
On Wednesday, the RCMP said that the national police force's radio communications were protected with end-to-end encryption and that radio frequency filtration equipment "poses no security concerns nor does it allow access to radio communications."
In a previous statement to CTV News, Sinclair said it is a trusted and independent company. It cited privacy reasons for being unable to comment further.
CTV News also found a number of other contracts, worth upwards of $90,000 each, awarded to Sinclair Technologies since its parent company Norsat was bought in 2017 by Hytera, which is partially owned by the Chinese government. The contracts included those with the RCMP, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the Department of National Defence.
On Thursday the Department of National Defence said it was aware of the concerns surrounding Sinclair Technologies and was "investigating these procurements and the way in which this equipment is used, alongside counterparts in other government departments."
"The government will take all measures necessary to ensure the security of our infrastructure," said the department in a statement.
This is a breaking news story, more to come…
With files from CTV News' Annie-Bergeron Oliver and Michael Lee
