Canada orders China's Hikvision to close Canadian operations
The Canadian government has ordered Chinese surveillance camera manufacturer Hikvision to cease operations in Canada over national security concerns, Industry Minister Melanie Joly said late on Friday.
Hikvision, also known as Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co, has faced numerous sanctions and restrictions by Canada's neighbor, the United States, over the past five and a half years for the firm's dealings and the use of its equipment in China's Xinjiang region, where rights groups have documented abuses against the Uyghur population and other Muslim communities.
'The government has determined that Hikvision Canada Inc's continued operations in Canada would be injurious to Canada's national security,' Joly said on X, adding that the decision was taken after a multi-step review of information provided by Canada's security and intelligence community.
Her statement did not mention China or Xinjiang or specify how Hikvision would harm Canada's national security.
Hikvision's Canadian and US operations, the parent company and China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The company, which calls itself the world's biggest maker of video surveillance equipment, said last year it had exited contracts in Xinjiang through five subsidiaries that were added to a US trade blacklist in 2023.
The Chinese government has denied all allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang and has criticized or targeted companies for removing Xinjiang firms from their supply chains.
Canada said last year it was reviewing an application to impose sanctions against Chinese surveillance equipment companies, including Hikvision, after rights advocates alleged the firms were aiding repression and high-tech surveillance in Xinjiang.
Joly said Canada was also banning the purchase of Hikvison's products in government departments and agencies, and reviewing existing properties to ensure that legacy Hikvision products were not used in the future.
She said the order does not extend to the company's affiliate operations outside Canada but 'strongly' encouraged Canadians 'to take note of this decision and make their own decisions accordingly.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
4 hours ago
- Arab News
UK considers envoy for Britons held abroad
LONDON: Britain is preparing to emulate the United States by appointing an envoy tasked with freeing citizens arbitrarily detained abroad, as it faces calls to do more to bring them home. High-profile cases like jailed Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abdel Fattah and imprisoned Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai have spotlighted the plight of Britons held in jails overseas. The UK foreign ministry insists it continues to press such cases with governments, but relatives of detainees and human rights organizations complain of a lack of urgency and transparency. 'The government is committed to strengthening support for British nationals, including through the appointment of a new envoy,' a Foreign Office spokesperson told AFP. Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer has said an 'Envoy for Complex Consular Detentions' is expected to be appointed 'before the summer.' The government has not specified the terms of the role but it could be similar to America's Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, a position created in 2015. Unlike the United States though, Britain does not take part in prisoner exchanges. Professor Carla Ferstman, an expert on arbitrary detentions at the Human Rights Center at Essex Law School, said appointing someone would be the 'clearest thing that the UK can do that it hasn't done yet.' 'When you have someone at the highest level they command a certain level of respect,' she told AFP. Abdel Fattah was arrested in September 2019 and sentenced to five years in prison on charges of 'spreading false news' after sharing a Facebook post about police brutality. He is still imprisoned despite a hunger strike by his mother and Britain's foreign ministry saying it is pushing for his release 'at the highest levels of the Egyptian government.' His sister Sanaa Seif said an envoy would mean 'a proper continued focus on' freeing detainees. 'It's also important to have a focal point that can help coordinate between different government bodies so that they all work in synchronization,' she told AFP. Seif believes the government should consider revising travel advice to Egypt too, a call also made by lawmakers who have suggested the government should sanction Egyptian officials as well. 'Is it not clear that words are no longer sufficient?' Conservative peer Guy Black asked in parliament's House of Lords recently. Ferstman said tightening travel guidance can be a powerful tool. 'It's a big deal because all of a sudden tourists can't get insurance and it's harder for business travel to happen. There's all kinds of implications,' she explained. Amnesty International recently called for the government to develop a 'clear strategy' to support arbitrarily detained Britons, including by demanding that UK officials attend trials. The Labour government pledged in its general election-winning manifesto last year that it would introduce 'a new right to consular assistance in cases of human rights violations.' Amnesty also wants the government to call for a person's 'immediate release,' including publicly when it is requested by the family. It said London took three years to publicly call for Lai to be freed, something his son Sebastian said 'sends the wrong message' to 'autocratic states.' 'The quicker we have the government speak out post-arrest, that's the window of opportunity to have people released,' Eilidh Macpherson, Amnesty's campaigns manager for individuals at risk told AFP. UK officials say the government can be wary of accusations it is interfering in another country's judicial system. 'Sometimes it may need to be quiet about what it's doing, but this shouldn't come at the expense of transparency,' said Ferstman. Jagtar Singh Johal, a Sikh blogger from Scotland, was arrested in India in November 2017 while there for his wedding on accusations of being part of a terror plot against right-wing Hindu leaders. He has not been convicted of a crime and in March was cleared in one of the nine charges against him. The foreign ministry spokesperson said Foreign Secretary David Lammy 'continues to raise concerns' about the detention with India's government 'at every appropriate opportunity.' But his brother, Gurpreet Singh Johal complains of being kept in the dark. 'We don't know what's actually being said,' he told AFP. Gurpreet said an envoy would be a 'good thing' but until the position is in place, 'We won't know exactly what it means.'
Arab News
13 hours ago
- Arab News
G7 agrees to exempt US multinationals from global minimum tax
OTTAWA: The Group of Seven nations said Saturday they have agreed to exempt US multinational companies from a global minimum tax imposed by other countries — a win for President Donald Trump's government, which pushed hard for the compromise. The deal will see US companies benefit from a 'side-by-side' solution under which they will only be taxed at home, on both domestic and foreign profits, the G7 said in a statement released by Canada, which holds the group's rotating presidency. The agreement was reached in part due to 'recently proposed changes to the US international tax system' included in Trump's signature domestic policy bill, which is still being debated in Congress, the statement said. The side-by-side system could 'provide greater stability and certainty in the international tax system moving forward,' it added. Nearly 140 countries struck a deal in 2021 to tax multinational companies, an agreement negotiated under the auspices of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). That agreement, deeply criticized by Trump, includes two 'pillars,' the second of which sets a minimum global tax rate of 15 percent. The OECD must ultimately decide to exempt the US companies from that tax — or not. The G7 said it looked forward to 'expeditiously reaching a solution that is acceptable and implementable to all.' On Thursday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had signaled that a 'joint understanding among G7 countries that defends American interests' was in the works. He also asked US lawmakers to 'to remove the Section 899 protective measure from consideration in the One, Big, Beautiful Bill' — Trump's policy mega-bill. Section 899 has been dubbed a 'revenge tax,' allowing the government to impose levies on firms with foreign owners and on investors from countries deemed to impose unfair taxes on US businesses. The clause sparked concern that it would inhibit foreign companies from investing in the United States.
Leaders
a day ago
- Leaders
Trump Ends Trade Talks with Canada Hours after Sealing China Deal
The US President, Donald Trump, announced that he terminated all trade talks with Canada, after Ottawa imposed a digital services tax on American technology firms. Trump's announcement came hours after the US reached a deal with China to speed up rare-earth supplies' flow into the US, reported Reuters. Surprise Announcement On Friday, Trump said that the US had ended its trade negotiations with Canada over what he called a 'blatant attack' on his country, announcing that he would set a new tariff on Canadian goods within the next seven days. 'We have just been informed that Canada, a very difficult Country to TRADE with, including the fact that they have charged our Farmers as much as 400% Tariffs, for years, on Dairy Products, has just announced that they are putting a Digital Services Tax on our American Technology Companies, which is a direct and blatant attack on our Country,' he said. 'They are obviously copying the European Union, which has done the same thing, and is currently under discussion with us, also,' Trump posed on Truth Social. 'Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately. We will let Canada know the Tariff that they will be paying to do business with the United States of America within the next seven day period,' Trump said. US-Canada Trade Talks The US and Canada have been negotiating over a trade deal for months. Canada is the US' second largest trade partner after Mexico and the largest buyer of US exports. According to US Census Bureau data, Canada imported $349.4 billion of US goods in 2024 and exported $412.7 billion to the US. In February 2025, Trump imposed tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China, over the flow of drugs and undocumented immigrants from those countries to the US, prompting the countries to respond with retaliatory measures. The Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, met with Trump at the G7 summit of world leaders in Alberta in mid-June, where both leaders agreed to pursue negotiations to reach a new economic deal within a month period. Canada Response After Trump's surprise announcement, Carney's office said that the government would resume negotiations with the US to resolve the dispute. 'The Canadian government will continue to engage in these complex negotiations with the United States in the best interests of Canadian workers and businesses,' it said. Further US Actions However, the US President told reporters at the White House that Washington would not resume negotiations with Ottawa 'until they straighten out their act,' adding that the US holds 'such power over Canada.' Furthermore, the US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, downplayed the trade dispute between the US and Canada, during an interview with CNBC. He suggested that that the US Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, would probably pursue a Section 301 probe into Canada's digital tax, which would pave the way for the US to impose retaliatory tariffs amounting to the approximately $2 billion in losses incurred by American companies. US-China Deal On Friday, Bessent announced that Washington and Beijing had reached a trade agreement that would speed up American firms' access to rare earth minerals from China, according to the Associated Press (AP). He said that the agreement would reduce tariffs and ease the flow of rare-earth magnets to US companies. Two weeks ago, Trump said that Washington and Beijing had finalized a deal, which would grant the US access to the rare-earth metals it needs, while the Chinese college students would be able to attend American universities. The agreement followed talks between American and Chinese officials in London and Geneva. The Chinese Commerce Ministry confirmed the deal on Friday. 'China will, in accordance with the law, review and approve eligible export applications for controlled items. In turn, the United States will lift a series of restrictive measures it had imposed on China,' it said. More Deals Coming Trump has set July 9, 2025 as a date for countries to reach trade deals with the US to avoid facing more tariffs. However, the Trump administration has indicated that this deadline is flexible and could be extended. Earlier on Friday, Bessent said that the Trump administration is engaging in trade talks with 18 top trade partners, including the European Union (EU) and India, adding that new deals could be finalized by the Labor Day holiday on September 1. 'We have 18 important trading partners. … If we can ink 10 or 12 of the important 18, there are another important 20 relationships, then I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day,' he told Fox Business Network. Short link : Post Views: 6
