SHANGHAI (Reuters) -Chinese surveillance camera manufacturer Hikvision said on Monday it was challenging an order the Canadian government issued last month that required it to cease operations in Canada.
The company said its Canadian unit had filed a notice of application in federal court seeking a judicial review of the June 27 decision and concurrently was asking the court not to enforce the order until its application was decided.
Hikvision, also known as Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co, resumed normal operations on Monday following an agreement with Canada’s attorney general that allowed it to do so until the court decided on its motion for a stay, it added.
“Through Canada’s legal system, we expect a fair process,” the company said in a statement.
Hikvision declined to provide a copy of the notice of application.
Canada’s Industry Minister Melanie Joly said at the time that the decision was taken after a multi-step review of information provided by Canada’s security and intelligence community determined that Hikvision’s continued operations in Canada would threaten the country’s national security.
Their statement did not specify how Hikvision would harm Canada’s national security.
Hikvision 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 minority Uyghur population and other Muslim communities.
The company, which describes itself as 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 U.S. 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.
The Chinese foreign ministry said in late June it strongly opposed Canada’s move and that it had lodged stern representations with the Canadian side.
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.
(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
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