DROVER: Canada should stand up to China on 5G

Last week, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his government’s decision to allow Chinese telecom company Huawei to be involved in building the country’s 5G network. This decision comes despite strong warnings from the Trump administration and was quickly met with public backlash from cyber-security experts, legislators and foreign allies.

As Canadian officials grapple with critical decisions in the construction of our own 5G network and face vigorous lobbying efforts from Huawei, it is important that we do not make the same mistake. Canadians need to recognize the real threat to our security and privacy posed by Huawei, protect our relationship with the United States and other foreign allies and ultimately stand up to China by refusing Huawei access to our 5G network.