House of Commons could face Huawei debate next week

The Official Opposition may be gearing up to force a debate and vote in the House of Commons on a motion that says the government should ban Chinese-based telecom equipment manufacturer Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. from Canada’s 5G networks. The Conservatives, who have been bellowing for months that the Liberal government should ban the company from Canada’s next generation telecom networks, have put four potential opposition motions on notice for their next supply day once the House of Commons resumes proceedings next week -- two of which centre on Huawei. One of the motions calls for a 5G ban, while another addresses the controversy swirling around Canada’s detention of Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou. The party will have to decide on just one of the four to have the chamber debate for their allotted day and likely have the House vote on it. The next scheduled supply day in the Commons where the opposition can drive the parliamentary agenda is Tuesday, according to the projected order of business. The Conservatives won’t likely show their hand on which motion they want to play until Monday. One of the motions on notice calls on the government to “ban Huawei from Canada’s 5G network,” while another calls for it to fire Canada’s ambassador to China, John McCallum. McCallum, a former Liberal cabinet minister, recently recanted comments he made that suggested Meng has a good case to make against her extradition to the U.S. because president Donald Trump had politicized the case. Trump last month suggested he might directly intervene if it meant it would leverage better trade with China or serve U.S. national security interests. McCallum’s comments led to Conservatives calling for his ousting as ambassador. Another potential motion the Conservatives could choose calls on the government to eliminate the federal carbon tax, while the fourth they’ve put forward for a possible debate calls on the prime minister to quickly dispatch with the deficit and commit to “never” raising taxes “of any kind.” Opposition motions mean little in terms of policy, but they can serve a number of political ends to pressure the government: they can garner media coverage, subject the House to lengthy debate on an issue and can force the governing party and various other political factions to take a position. The government is currently reviewing the security conditions of allowing Huawei equipment into Canada’s 5G networks, but officials have refused to provide a timeline for when it might conclude. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said he will listen to experts before making a choice and not politicize the issue. Bloomberg News reported last week that a final decision on a ban is still months away, according to unnamed government sources.

House of Commons could face Huawei debate next week

Brief | January 25, 2019

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House of Commons could face Huawei debate next week

Brief | January 25, 2019

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