Tories attack government over PHAC data tracking, Huawei delay

Two Conservative MPs lambasted the Liberal government on Tuesday over data tracking by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and the government’s delay in deciding whether Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. can deploy its equipment in Canada’s 5G networks. First up was John Brassard, who has been spearheading the Tory attack on PHAC. “Protecting the privacy of Canadians is the foundation of our freedoms,” the MP said during Question Period. “Sadly, under these Liberals, the foundations of our democracy are crumbling when this type of massive overreach happens. My question is a simple one: Who authorized the secret spying on Canadians?” Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos dodged the basic question but said the government is committed to privacy concerns. “I completely agree with my colleague. He is right to emphasize the importance of protecting people’s privacy,” he replied. “I assume he is also emphasizing the importance of protecting people’s health and safety. We are doing that together. “We are working with the Privacy Commissioner of Canada to ensure that the methods employed, as we know, effectively rely on confidential, anonymized aggregate data to protect people’s health and safety, as well as their privacy.” Brassard first raised the issue in January when he wrote a letter to the Privacy Commissioner demanding to know why PHAC had issued a request for proposal (RFP) seeking to find a company to collect mobility data for use in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. The original terms of the RFP called for applications to be made while Parliament was not in session, although the agency later extended the deadline. The Ethics committee, on which Brassard sits, agreed with him and voted unanimously to call Duclos and Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam to appear to discuss the matter. Tam refused the invitation; Duclos will meet with the committee on Thursday. On Tuesday in the House of Commons, Brassard continued his attack on the government. “If someone were to connect the dots, they would see a pattern of massive overreach by the Liberals. They tried to seize control of Parliament at the beginning of the pandemic to completely control spending and taxing. They got caught secretly collecting banking data. They attempted to limit speech and what Canadians can see on the internet and now this," Brassard said. “This pattern of control is only seen in countries that many Canadians have fled from. How could anyone think that secretly gathering this data without the consent of Canadians was a good idea?” Later Tuesday, Brassard’s colleague Ed Fast raised the topic of Huawei with Innovation Minister François-Phillipe Champagne. “Our American allies, and our other allies, banned Huawei from their 5G networks long ago and cannot understand why the Liberal government continues to dither and delay. It has been three years,” Fast stated. “When will the minister stop appeasing the Communist regime in Beijing and finally say no way to Huawei?” “I will say no to misleading Canadians when it comes to the issue of national security,” Champagne said. “I am very happy to hear him talk about our network, because Canadians at home understand that this decision will have an impact not only on this generation but also on future generations, so colleagues like him should understand that national security must come first when we make a decision like that. That is why we will make the right decision for Canadians.” The Conservatives are calling for a complete ban on Huawei equipment in Canadian 5G networks and dismiss calls from telecom operators for reimbursement of monies already spent on Huawei gear. Some countries are permitting the Chinese equipment manufacturer to work on ancillary networks, while restricting access to the core network. Fast presented other facts to the House of Commons. “Canada must say no to Huawei. The Washington Post recently reported how Huawei has developed voice and facial recognition technology that helps governments track and monitor political dissidents, manage re-education camps and help retailers track shoppers. This is appalling. While Canada’s most trusted allies have banned Huawei from their networks, this Liberal government refuses to do so.” Champagne uncorked some partisanship of his own when responding to Fast. “I was about to say that we are not going to take any lessons from the Conservatives when it comes to national security and I will tell members why. We review four times more transactions plus twice as many transactions as the Conservatives did when they were in government," the Innovation Minister said. “Canadians know that we care when it comes to national security. We will take no compromise when it comes to national security and we will make the best decision in the interests of all Canadians.” Late last year the minister said a Huawei decision would be coming “in weeks” but was no more specific. He did not provide a firmer timeline when asked about the matter by reporters before the Liberal caucus meeting Wednesday. –Reporting by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca and editing by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca

Tories attack government over PHAC data tracking, Huawei delay

News | February 2, 2022

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