MPs have criticized the “incompetent” health agency over the sacked scientists at the National Microbiology Laboratory

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press, April 19, 2024.

A lab technician works in a mobile lab at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg on November 3, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Poole, Reuters – Lyle Stafford

OTTAWA — Federal officials in charge of the National Microbiology Laboratory on Friday defended security protocols at the Winnipeg facility against accusations of bureaucratic incompetence by lawmakers. “We acted as quickly as possible given the information available,” Health Canada chief Heather Jeffrey said Friday. He testified before the House Committee on Canada-China Relations, which investigated Ottawa’s handling of two Winnipeg lab researchers who left Canada after their security clearances were revoked amid questions about their integrity and possible coercion by Beijing. Records presented to parliament in February said scientists Xiang Qiu and her husband Caidin Cheng had reduced their cooperation with Chinese government agencies before the agency fired them in 2021. The documents also show that Canada’s security intelligence agency concluded that Qiu had lied on multiple occasions. the extent of his involvement with Chinese government institutions and his refusal to acknowledge his involvement in various Chinese programs even when presented with evidence. The intelligence service described Qiu as “reckless” in his dealings with various Chinese entities, “particularly his lack of respect for proper scientific protocols for the transfer of pathogens and his dealings with institutions whose targets have potentially lethal military applications” that are at odds with his interests. of Canada. The RCMP is conducting a national security investigation, although Qiu and Cheng have not been charged criminally in connection with the allegations. Jeffrey said both are Canadian citizens and they have asked Ottawa to reconsider its decision to revoke their security clearances. On Monday, MPs from the Conservatives, the Bloc Québécois and even the Liberals debated why officials were allowed to handle sensitive jobs during the investigation. “The scientists covered up these partnerships and actually lied, and when they were discovered, those scientists were suspended,” he said. Bloc MP René Villemure told the committee she was “surprised” that no PHAC staff had faced any consequences after Geoffrey recommended that only two scientists be disciplined. “Take your pick, is it negligence or incompetence?” asked Villemure. New processes and policies have been put in place to allow the agency to detect “future attempts to conceal collusion and collusion and other motivations” as quickly as possible, Jeffrey said. Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith has repeatedly asked whether these updated protocols will stop the unauthorized shipment of Ebola and Henipa viruses to China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology. He said he could not answer the hypothetical question. Erskine-Smith told officials the reason Qiu was able to send the package without anyone asking questions was because he was already under investigation. “How could there be no red flags?” he asked. Guillaume Poliquin, who headed the Winnipeg lab months after the two scientists were fired, pleaded not guilty to Ottawa’s handling of the situation. “These are allegations and further investigation is ongoing,” he replied. Conservative MP Michael Chong said he hoped bureaucrats would keep promises they made in testimony to parliament to provide a timeline of when they became aware of security breaches at the lab. “What we want to achieve in this committee is to understand why it took 10 months to secure the lab, which seems like a very long period of time,” he said. MPs need to understand the flow of information and intelligence within government, Chong said, so Ottawa can react more quickly to any similar incident in the future. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on April 19, 2024. 22
-21