OTTAWA – Facing intense international scrutiny of late, Huawei Canada president Sean Yang addressed the International Institute of Communications Canadian conference on Wednesday to insist the Chinese telco technology manufacturer would never do anything to damage the business it has built in Canada over the past number of years.
Earlier this month the head of the U.S. Intelligence Committee urged Canadian companies to stop doing business with Huawei, now the world’s second largest telco equipment manufacturer, due to security concerns. Huawei does little business in the States as the government there believes its gear could be used by the Chinese government for spying and corporate espionage.
Click here for a CBC report on the matter.
As a result of that report and others “it has been a tough month for us here in Canada,” Yang acknowledged in his speech to IIC delegates.
The company has grown well over its five years in Canada to 450 employees and it has established a research and development facility in Kanata. “We’ve worked openly and transparently with our customers, and with government to establish protocols to address issues related to the protection of global supply chains and cyber security,” he continued. “We’re incorporated in Canada. We follow Canadian laws and regulations… and we would never do anything to jeopardize or undermine the trust we know is critical to our long term success.”
Telus, Bell, SaskTel and others all have deployed Huawei’s technology extensively in their networks and the company has been testing fixed wireless technology in Saskatchewan of late that is about to be deployed to cover 50% of the urban population of China, said Yang.
Besides, when it comes to “made in China” Samsung, Apple, Cisco, Ericsson and a whole host of other suppliers have huge manufacturing operations there. Yang also drew a parallel to the growth of the Japanese auto industry over the decades where North Americans first feared their entry and now those very companies employ thousands of Canadians and Americans.
Despite all the reassuring words, Yang knows he now has a big job on his hands convincing Canadians who had never heard of Huawei before but who now fear the company’s technology because of what they have seen and heard. “We know we still have a long road ahead of us in Canada to build trust, but we are staying on the path,” he explained.
“The report from the U.S. Congress has not been helpful and for many Canadians who have never heard of our company before, we’ve got significant work to do to build trust. We understand this… At the same time, Canada is extremely important for Huawei and we would like to believe that the long-term benefits of our investment in Canada is one that is viewed as important to Canada.”
– Greg O’Brien
