Banned Chinese cameras still running in federal offices, Joly says it’s ‘unacceptable’

Hikvision surveillance cameras banned from Canada last year over national security concerns are still running in some federal organizations – a situation Industry Minister Melanie Joly calls “unacceptable”, and at least one agency removed its remaining units only this week.

The National Research Council confirmed Tuesday that “all remaining cameras have been removed as planned,” days after telling National Post it was still using Hikvision gear to monitor non-sensitive work areas. The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority says cameras in a community office will stay in service until November.

A ban with loose ends

Joly banned Hikvision Canada in June 2025 under a national security review, citing risks of espionage and mass surveillance on behalf of China, and gave the company 120 days to wind up its Canadian business, according to National Post reporting on the order. The order also barred federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations from buying or using its products.

But five organizations that declared using Hikvision gear in a 2024 document tabled in Parliament – including the Canadian Space Agency, Employment and Social Development Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Parks Canada – have declined to say whether they complied, pointing to Hikvision’s court challenge of the ban. Hikvision has contested the order in Federal Court, where a judge refused to suspend it in September 2025.

Why it matters

Former diplomat Michael Kovrig – imprisoned by China from 2018 to 2021 – told National Post that equipment made by a company subject to Chinese intelligence law “has no place in government facilities.” Former national security analyst Dennis Molinaro notes that even everyday details – who walks through a federal office, what experiments are underway – can be valuable to a foreign intelligence service.

The government says a review of existing properties continues to clear out remaining legacy products.

Updated October 25, 2026: Corrected the status of Hikvision’s Federal Court challenge — the company has contested the order; a judge refused to suspend it in September 2025.