Canada and its allies use the company's patented satellite technology for security, public safety and defence
The Trudeau government is allowing Chinese investors to buy a Vancouver high-tech firm without a formal national security review even though Canada and many of its allies use the company’s patented satellite communications technology for security, public safety and defence.
Hytera Communications of Shenzhen, China, is acquiring Vancouver-based Norsat International Inc., a company with military customers including the Pentagon that is also delivering a satellite communication system this year for the Canadian Coast Guard.
The government decided after a preliminary security screening that further examination of the deal was not necessary.
The government’s handling of this takeover – after Britain imposed strict conditions on a similar Hytera acquisition – and several other recent approvals of Chinese investment in sensitive sectors suggest the Trudeau Liberals are less risk-averse than their predecessors to capital from China as they prepare for bilateral free-trade talks with the world’s second-biggest economy.
In February, the Liberals approved the sale of a large B.C. chain of retirement homes to a Beijing-based insurance titan with a murky ownership structure, giving China a foothold in Canada’s health-care sector. In March, they approved a takeover of ITF Technologies Inc. in Montreal – which the Harper government had blocked on the grounds it would undermine a technological edge Western militaries have over China.
Customers Norsat lists on its website include the U.S. Department of Defence, the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Army, the Irish Department of Defence, the Taiwanese army, the aircraft manufacturing company Boeing and major journalism outfits including CBS News and Reuters.
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