Universities contacted by The Globe and Mail say they have no plans to sever ties with Huawei unless instructed to do so by the federal government. Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press
Leading Canadian universities say they intend to continue research and development with Huawei Technologies Co., which removes intellectual property from the partnerships, following Ottawa’s decision to ban the Chinese telecommunications giant from wireless networks. 5G thread for national security concerns.
When the Trudeau government announced on May 19 that it would ban Huawei from selling 5G equipment to Canadian telecommunications companies, it did not take action against Huawei’s extensive dealings with Canadian universities. Huawei spends approximately $ 25 million annually on university R&D projects aimed at developing advanced communications technologies such as 5G and 6G wireless.
The company participates in research programs, often as a sponsor, of about 20 Canadian post-secondary institutions, including the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia, McGill University, Carleton University, the University of Calgary and the University of Calgary. University of Waterloo.
Universities contacted by The Globe and Mail say they have no plans to sever ties with Huawei unless instructed to do so by the federal government.
Why is Canada banning Huawei from participating in the country’s 5G network?
McGill spokeswoman Cynthia Lee said the university has a limited number of research partnerships with Huawei and has no plans to change the course unless requested by Ottawa.
“As with all Canadian universities, McGill complies with federal guidelines and regulations on research partnerships,” he said. “At this time, no decision has been made on these current research initiatives.”
JP Heale, director general of the UBC’s industry relations office, said the university “has no knowledge of any Huawei-related federal conditions at this time and we will not speculate on any future scenarios that include Huawei or any other. research partner “.
UBC said it received $ 6.3 million in Huawei-sponsored research this year and was involved in 24 research projects with the company in 2021.
The University of Toronto said in a statement that Huawei’s ban on 5G is not aimed at university research, but added: “In the event of changes to government guidelines, we will of course respond and comply.”
Sean Myers of the University of Calgary said “security threats need to be taken seriously” and that the institution is working with federal security agencies to “help us do our risk assessments.”
Huawei estimated that about 10% of the company’s annual R&D investment in Canada went directly to research partnerships with Canadian research institutions. In addition to its cooperation with Canadian universities, Huawei also has eight private research facilities in Canada, including Waterloo, Markham, Kanata, Quebec, Montreal, Kingston, Edmonton and Vancouver.
“It’s amazing that Canada’s public universities continue to work with an organization that the Canadian government has banned from Canada’s 5G network for national security reasons,” said Jim Hinton, a patent attorney. “It’s like throwing someone out of your house while allowing them to access your office through the front door. It doesn’t make sense.”
Huawei will not say how much intellectual property it has collected from Canadian universities. “The company does not disclose sensitive and confidential business information,” Alykhan Velshi, Huawei’s vice president of corporate affairs for the Americas, said in a statement.
A search of U.S. and world patent offices by Mr. Hinton identified nearly 80 unique patents and patent applications invented by Canadian university researchers in recent years where Huawei is listed as the owner of the patent. In some cases, Canadian universities are listed as co-owners of these patents, but Mr. Hinton said Huawei’s revenue or profits from the marketing of intellectual property would not necessarily flow to the university.
A senior federal official said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office was concerned that the Shenzhen-based company would take the Canadian government to court if Ottawa closed its private investigation facilities in Canada and banned the company from university research and development. The Globe did not identify the official because they were not allowed to speak on the record about Huawei’s activities in Canada.
The source said the cabinet was also concerned that the move could further upset China, as Ottawa is trying to repair relations with Beijing. Bilateral relations froze in late 2018 after Huawei chief executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver over a U.S. extradition request, and in apparent retaliation, China jailed Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig.
The Liberal government was also concerned that a bigger ban on Huawei could harm it politically and that mainland Chinese-Canadian immigrants would punish the Liberals in major urban areas of Greater Toronto Area and Vancouver, the source said.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino told The Globe that the government was focused on Huawei’s 5G security concerns and did not want to extend the Canadian ban to Huawei’s extensive investigation operations.
“The primary purpose of the statement of intent to ban Huawei devices from 5G, 4G, and 3G, and any network that goes beyond that, is to address the specific risk that this computer poses to national network security. of telecommunications, “the minister said. .
However, Mendicino said Ottawa is willing to talk to universities that are conducting research with Huawei to determine if this is in the best interest of the country.
“We will work very closely with academia, including post-secondary institutions that may be advancing research in conjunction with Huawei,” he said. “But at the end of the day, we will continuously reassess any activity put forward by this state actor and, if necessary, take the necessary steps to mitigate any potential risks.”
Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, a senior senior official in the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, said Canadians should not overlook Huawei’s ties to the Chinese military.
“Our scientists and engineers need to recognize that Huawei is a major partner in China’s military technology development and that the People’s Liberation Army is not our friend,” he said.
Mrs. McCuaig-Johnston, a senior member of the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, said he expects other manufacturers of telecommunications equipment not to be banned from 5G networks, such as Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung, may begin to do so. displacing Huawei in funding Canadian university research.
Alex Wellstead, communications director for Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne, said the government had recently set national security guidelines for research partnerships for universities and grant agencies.
Researchers applying for grants through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council will now have to complete a comprehensive safety risk assessment. Any project rated as “highest risk” will be reviewed by Canadian security agencies and a team of scientists. If it is considered too high a risk, the research will not receive government funding.
In 2020, the CSIS warned the country’s universities and research institutions that Beijing is using academic recruitment programs such as its Thousand Talents Plan to attract scientists to China in hopes of gaining cutting-edge science and technology. gain an economic and military advantage.
The U.S. government is creating regulations that would limit research partnerships and other agreements that universities have with China. Universities that do not meet these standards run the risk of losing Department of Defense funding.
In May 2021, The Globe reported on the University of Alberta’s extensive scientific collaboration with China, which involves sharing and transferring research in strategically important areas such as nanotechnology, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence.
Shortly afterwards, the Alberta government ordered its four major universities to suspend the search for new partnerships with people or organizations linked to the Chinese government or the Communist Party. Institutions must provide reports to the province describing all relations with China.
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