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'There is a saying that if you can't beat them, join them'

Five years ago, Huawei Technologies was caught supplying dissident-tracking telecommunications equipment to the Khomeinist regime in Tehran via its Iranian corporate partners, who were found to have entered into contracts with the terrorist-listed Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. As a result, the U.S. House Intelligence Committee concluded that Huawei presented national security risks to the United States.

At the time, Stephen Harper’s Conservative government invoked a “national security exemption” in its hiring of firms to build a secure federal communications network. Harper refused repeated requests to publicly disclose whether Huawei had been disqualified from tendering bids.

Despite the efforts of the Canada China Business Council, the Chinese embassy in Ottawa, and Scott Bradley’s own cajolings on behalf of Huawei (he handles the company’s dealings with the government), Canada’s intelligence community still hasn’t been persuaded to welcome the prospect of Huawei consummating its intimacies with Canada’s federal cyber-structure.

Our intelligence community still hasn't welcomed Huawei consummating its intimacies with Canada's federal cyber-structure

This has caused Lu Shaye, China’s ambassador, to snipe that national-security concerns about Huawei should be dismissed as “trade protectionism.” Well, Chinese diplomats snipe about a lot of things, and besides, Huawei’s case isn’t being helped by a fiscal authorization bill that was put to the U.S. House of Representatives last month.

The proposed law would bar the Pentagon from buying any sensitive equipment from Russian suppliers — not surprising, given the consensus of U.S. intelligence agencies that the Kremlin employed active measures in hacking the Democratic National Committee with a view to aiding Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential elections. Investigations proceed in the grave matter of whether Trump or his officials colluded with Russia. The recriminations and partisan blood-feuding have come close to paralyzing the U.S. government.