The opposition is demanding to know what steps have been taken toaddress security concerns over foreign companies operating inCanada's telecommunications industry, in the wake of a CBC Newsreport about a Chinese firm's contracts in Canada. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Public Safety Minister Vic Toewstold the House of Commons Wednesday that concerns raised byCanadian officials have been addressed and Canadians can rely on asafe and secure system. But the opposition parties said they aren't satisfied with thegovernment's responses and want more "transparency" about thesecurity concerns. Harper and Toews were asked to respond to a CBC report by Greg Weston on warnings from North American security officials about HuaweiTechnologies, a giant Chinese firm that has partnerships withTelus, Bell, SaskTel and WIND Mobile. Toews referred to a memo from his department that he said showssecurity concerns were addressed but CBC News has a redacted copyof the memo and its author says only that any changes to foreigninvestment rules "will be accompanied by necessary mitigationmeasures and safeguards." "There's an obvious attempt by the Conservatives to offer up alittle bit of spin to try and get people off the story," NDP LeaderTom Mulcair told CBC News in an interview. "There's been no realanswer on the national security side or the public safety side.We're going to keep calling the government to account on this,we're not going to be spun off of it. "We're concerned for public safety but we're also concerned fornational security," he said. "Why is Canada not being as prudent asour allies?" Weston reported on Tuesday that the former head of U.S.counter-espionage says the Harper government is putting NorthAmerican security at risk by allowing Huawei Technologies toparticipate in major Canadian telecommunications projects. In an exclusive interview in Washington, Michelle K. Van Cleavesaid the company's involvement in Canadian telecom networks risksturning the information highway into a freeway for Chineseespionage against both the U.S. and Canada. Harper was asked by Mulcair in question period why Canada iswilling to do business with Huawei Technologies when the UnitedStates and Australia have blocked the company. 'Concerns have been addressed' "The leader of the NDP is speaking of some contractualrelationships between some Canadian companies and foreigncompanies. The particular concerns that he raised, in fact, havebeen addressed. Those concerns are examined and those concerns havebeen addressed in our mind," said Harper, "And I would remind theleader of the NDP that we don't take dictates on security from theUnited States." The memo that Toews referred to Wednesday was written in 2011 bythe Department of Public Safety and obtained under the Access toInformation Act. In it, a senior public safety official says, "thesecurity and intelligence community" believes that throwing openthe Canadian telecom market to foreign companies "would pose aconsiderable risk to public safety and national security." Large sections of the memo were withheld from release. Toews said in question period that in the same memo the officialstated that despite the concerns mentioned, he wanted to stressthat the department was "not in opposition to the auction." The memo was on national security concerns related to a wirelessspectrum auction and opening the door to foreign investment in thetelecommunications sector. "In fact, what the official did do is point out certain concernsand then indicate that those concerns had been addressed," Toewstold the House of Commons. The public safety minister said all telecommunications carriers inCanada are subject to Canadian law. "We will continue to ensurethat Canadians can rely on a telecommunications infrastructure thatis safe and secure," he said. The memo, however, does not say that concerns had already beenaddressed. It says that officials from public safety will work withofficials from Industry Canada "to help ensure that any changes tothe telecommunications market will be accompanied by necessarymitigation measures and safeguards." It also says that public safety officials want to ensure that"appropriate measures are established" to protect the sector and itwarns that loosening restrictions on the telecommunicationsindustry without introducing "mitigation measures" comes withsignificant risks. Liberal Leader Bob Rae said Toews shouldn't necessarily be taken athis word. "I mean the problem right now is we have a complete lack oftransparency with respect to the decision and how it could bereviewed. If we had a government that was interested in sharinginformation, we could have a national security committee look atit," he said. "I think what we need to have is a process that allows us to seewhat are the security concerns and how in fact have they been met." Rae said the facts upon which Toews made his decision about thecompany and any security risks aren't known. Huawei declined to be interviewed by the CBC.The company issued awritten statement late Tuesday saying, in part, that it ensures"all our stakeholders, including governments, have a clearunderstanding of the tools we use to protect the integrity of ourcustomers' networks to the highest standards. "Over the past four years, we've worked openly and transparently inconsultation with our customers and government to meet theserequirements.". The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China Color Masterbatches , Masterbatch Black, and more. For more , please visit Plastic Resins today!
Related Articles -
China Color Masterbatches, Masterbatch Black,
|