Hikvision describes itself as the world鈥檚 biggest maker of video surveillance equipment. (AFP pic)OTTAWA: 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鈥檚 neighbour, the US, over the past five and a half years for the firm鈥檚 dealings and the use of its equipment in China鈥檚 Xinjiang region, where rights groups have documented abuses against the Uyghur population and other Muslim communities.鈥淭he government has determined that Hikvision Canada Inc鈥檚 continued operations in Canada would be injurious to Canada鈥檚 national security,鈥 Joly said on X, adding that the decision was taken after a multi-step review of information provided by Canada鈥檚 security and intelligence community.Her statement did not mention China or Xinjiang or specify how Hikvision would harm Canada鈥檚 national security.鈥淲e strongly disagree with this decision and view it with deep concern, as we believe it lacks a factual basis, procedural fairness, and transparency,鈥 a Hikvision spokesman told Reuters.鈥淚nstead of evaluating our technology on its cybersecurity merits, the decision appears to be driven by the parent company鈥檚 country of origin, reflecting broader geopolitical tensions and an unjustified bias against Chinese companies.鈥漈he spokesman said the company 鈥渦rges the Canadian government to base its actions on facts rather than prejudice, and to uphold a fair, transparent environment for all businesses and investors鈥.China鈥檚 foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The company, which describes itself as the world鈥檚 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 affiliate operations outside Canada but 鈥渟trongly鈥 encouraged Canadians 鈥渢o take note of this decision and make their own decisions accordingly鈥.