US National Security Advisor Warns Against Canada’s Use of Huawei 5G Technology

A top US official warned against the inclusion of Huawei technology in Canada’s 5G network.

According to a new report from Reuters, the US national security advisor said that allowing Huawei technology into Canada’s 5G network would put the nation at risk from Chinese intelligence as well as put intelligence sharing with the US in jeopardy.

Intelligence sharing “would be impacted if our close allies let the Trojan horse into the city,” said national security adviser Robert O’Brien at a security conference in Halifax.

“When they (the Chinese) get Huawei into Canada or into other Western countries, they’re going to know every health record, every banking record, every social media post, they’re going to know everything about every single Canadian,” he said.

O’Brien noted that the Chinese government could use data gathered from Huawei’s 5G mobile network to “micro-target” Canadians with personalized texts aimed at undermining elections.

The national security advisor explains that the fallout from such infiltration would have an impact on Canada’s participation in the Five Eyes alliance, which includes the intelligence agencies in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Former Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale previously said that the decision on whether or not to ban Huawei from Canada’s upcoming 5G network would be made after October’s federal election.

Relations between Canada and China have seen a downward spiral in the last year, sparked by the arrest of Huawei’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou on an American extradition warrant last December.