A report submitted by the auditing unit of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police indicates that the equipment purchased by the force from a company with ties to China is unlikely to compromise safety, but security requirements should be strengthened during future equipment purchases.

In October 2021, the Public Services and Procurement Canada signed a contract with Ontario-based Sinclair Technology to purchase radio frequency filtering systems and related installation and maintenance services for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Shenzhen Hytera Communications Company acquired Sinclair's parent company, Nosat International, in 2017. The Chinese government also owns 10% of Hytera through an investment fund.

One function of the radio frequency filtering systems is to prevent eavesdropping on terrestrial radio communications. The incident sparked controversy and safety concerns after it was revealed by the media in December of last year. The RCMP paused the contract and placed it under review by its internal audit evaluation unit. The ministry completed its report in June of this year, but it was only disclosed recently.

The audit committee also concluded that the RCMP did not violate regulations and procedures related to equipment purchases. The opinion of the Canadian Communications Security Establishment concluded that the radio frequency filtering equipment would not affect the security of the encrypted communications of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

However, the audit committee also believes that there is room for improvement in police equipment purchasing procedures and that greater attention should be given to safety. Additionally, the Treasury Board's list of security requirements, which should be verified on a case-by-case basis when purchasing equipment, should be updated as some current security threats are not listed.

The audit committee found that there were indeed additional safety review processes concerning equipment purchases, but the RCMP did not have formal guidance on the circumstances under which these processes would be initiated. The report recommends that the police close this gap.

Hytera has also been listed as one of the Chinese companies posing a threat by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, and its equipment import to the United States has been banned. The company is also facing 21 charges related to espionage in the United States.