Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne named them as targets for new federal rules meant to protect national security. Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said 5G technology comes with huge opportunities but the government has a duty to protect Canadians from the associated risks. He said banning equipment and services in critical systems if it comes from vendors the government considers unreliable will take new legislation, to come “in the very short term.” (The Logic)

Talking point: Out of concern that the Chinese government could skim useful information out of data passing through Huawei-made equipment, Canada’s allies in the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network have all banned or sharply restricted its use in their advanced networks. The federal government has been musing about barring Huawei gear from next-generation networks since at least 2018 and several times ministers have wrongly said a decision was imminent. In the meantime, Canadian telcos have bought 5G equipment from other providers rather than risk having to rebuild their networks, so by now the 5G ban is a formality.