Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a press conference, in Djerba, Tunisia on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022. Trudeau says the federal government is reviewing an RCMP equipment contract with a company that has ties to China's government. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government is reviewing an RCMP equipment contract with a company that has ties to China’s government.
Radio-Canada reports that the federal Procurement Department awarded a $550,000 contract to an Ontario company last year to build and maintain a radio frequency filtering system for the Mounties.
Its parent company has been owned by Chinese telecommunications firm Hytera since 2017, and the Chinese government owns about 10 per cent of Hytera through an investment fund.
At a news conference in Montreal, Trudeau called the news “disconcerting,” especially as government security agencies have warned public institutions to be careful about foreign interference.
He says the government will consider the issue of security when procuring contracts for the government and government agencies.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says he has instructed his staff to look closely at the contact and review the process by which the contract was awarded.
Neither the RCMP nor the company immediately responded to requests for comment.
Radio-Canada says the RCMP expressed confidence in the security of the system and that any contractors involved needed to obtain a security clearance, while the Ontario company cited customer confidentiality in declining to answer Radio-Canada’s questions.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2022.
