Canada to ban Huawei, ZTE from 5G, 4G networks

While talking to reporters, Canadian Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said, "Telecommunication companies in Canada will not be permitted to include in their networks products or services that put our national security at risk," adding "providers who already have this equipment installed will be required to cease its use and remove it."

After this move, Canada also became one of the countries which have already banned or restricted Huawei equipment from their 5G networks. Earlier, the US, Australia, New Zealand and the UK imposed restrictions or banned the Huawei equipment from their 5G network, Toronto Sun reported.

Responding to a question on being late in taking a decision against Chinese companies, Champagne said, "This has never been a race. This is about making the right decision."

Canadian Innovation Minister said in a policy statement that the telecom companies will have to remove 5G equipment and managed services from Huawei and ZTE by June 28, 2024, and "any existing 4G equipment and managed services must be removed or terminated by December 31, 2027".

Champagne also said that the government would not be financially compensating telecoms, reported Toronto Sun.

On top of older, previously-sold equipment, Huawei has sold slightly more than USD 700 million worth of equipment to telecom operators in Canada since 2018, mostly to Bell and Telus.

Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, a China expert and senior fellow with the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa, said that two and five years to remove all the Huawei equipment is just too long.

Johnston said she is "fully in favour" of the Liberals' announcement and said that she'd hoped the government would go as far as the U.S. and outright ban all of the company's products, such as consumer items like cellphones, as reported by toronto Sun.

"There are other elements of what the company provides that can also be a problem," she said.

The Huawei and ZTE ban stems from the fear that having Huawei equipment in Canada's next-generation wireless networks is a security risk, especially considering China's laws that state companies must cooperate with its intelligence services. (ANI)