After the RCMP suspended its contract with Sinclair Technologies Inc., a China-linked company whose parent firm is facing espionage-related charges in the United States, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino wouldn’t say on Jan. 30 whether the federal government will stop hiring the company in the future.
The parent company of Sinclair Technologies, Norsat International Inc., was acquired in 2017 by Chinese telecommunications firm Hytera. The Chinese Communist Party holds 10 percent of Hytera through an investment entity.
The RCMP came under fire after Radio-Canada reported last December that it had contracted Sinclair to purchase radio frequency filtering equipment for the force. The contract, with a total value of $549,637, was issued on Oct. 6, 2021, for a period of three years until March 31, 2024. That contract was suspended on Dec. 9, 2022….