No decision on Huawei and 5G before federal election call: Goodale

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says Canadians will have to wait until after this fall’s federal election to find out whether Chinese tech giant Huawei can provide equipment for the country’s next-generation 5G wireless network.

Goodale tells The Canadian Press that Canada needs more information from the United States about the nature of the potential security threat posed by the state-owned company.

Goodale says that’s not likely to happen before campaigning begins for the Oct. 21 election, which is expected to get underway sometime in early September.

Goodale was speaking after Canada and its Five Eyes intelligence allies wrapped a key meeting today that began with divisions over whether to let Huawei supply the equipment for the 5G system.

The United States, along with Australia, has banned Huawei, citing concerns that it is an organ of Chinese military intelligence – a charge the company denies.

Canada’s eventual decision is entwined with a broader political dispute with China that has seen the People’s Republic imprison two Canadian men following the RCMP’s decision to arrest Huawei senior executive Meng Wanzhou on an American extradition warrant.