China Mobile International Canada is asking the Federal Court to set aside the recent decision, saying the government has no grounds to believe the company would compromise security or engage in espionage on behalf of Beijing.CMI Canada says the Trudeau government was motivated, at least in part, by “the current political socioeconomic climate and the general biases against Chinese state-owned companies.
CMI Canada’s application filed this week in Federal Court reveals details of an investment screening case that has quietly unfolded outside the public eye over the last year. CMI Canada says it inadvertently neglected to inform the federal government of its presence as a new Canadian business until October of last year. A series of requests for information from federal officials soon followed.The Investment Canada Act and the National Security Review of Investments Regulations allow the federal government to scrutinize an investment in Canada by a foreign enterprise.
CMI Canada contends the conclusion was “tantamount to speculation about what the Canadian business may do,” such as using its supposed access to sensitive information for “military applications or espionage.”Why CSIS believes Canada is ‘permissive target’ for China’s interference – Jun 24, 2020