The media has learned that Canadian security agencies warned Ottawa against allowing a Chinese firm to take over a Montreal tech company, fearing that the move would undermine the technological edge that Western militaries have over China.

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"If the technology is transferred, China would be able to domestically produce advanced-military laser technology to Western standards sooner than would be otherwise the case, which dismisses Canadian and allied military advantages," said a national-security assessment prepared for Canada's cabinet by the Department of National Defense and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service in 2015.

The national security assessment mentioned the use of laser technology by the military but did not elaborate on it.

The acquisition of ITF Technologies by Hong Kong-based O-Net Communications has caused a furor in Canada, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau feeling the heat after his government reversed a cabinet order that sought to block the purchase.

The liberals, who are committed to deepening relations with China, canceled the order for O-Net to abandon its purchase, instead offering the Hong Kong tech firm a second chance to win national security approval.

National security officials were concerned because they considered the Hong Kong company to be under the control of the Chinese Communist government.

A review of the takeover concluded that the deal would be "injurious to national security."

However, in November 2016, Trudeau's Liberal government started a legal challenge to the cabinet decision by initiating a second security review.

Trudeau's government has made deepening trade relations with China a key foreign-policy issue. The Canadian government is also loosening its restrictions on foreign investment.

Tagschina, Canada, technology