Wake-up call for Canada: Security experts say case of 2 fired scientists could point to espionage

Couple shared information, virus samples from high-security lab with Chinese institute

China says its scientific co-operation with Canada should not be politicized, responding to questions about two scientists fired from Canada's only Level 4 lab — a case that has led to an RCMP investigation, demands for details in Parliament and concerns about Chinese espionage.

Very few people know why Dr. Xiangguo Qiu and her biologist husband, Keding Cheng, were marched out of the Winnipeg-based National Microbiology Lab (NML) two years ago and stripped of their security clearance. They were officially fired last January.

However, two national security experts believe the case of the scientists raises the possibility of Chinese espionage.

"It appears that what you might well call Chinese agents infiltrated one of the highest prized national security elements when it comes to biosecurity and biodefence," said Christian Leuprecht, a security expert and professor at the Royal Military College and Queen's University.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-lab-security-experts-1.6059097

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Opposition parties want documents on fired Winnipeg scientists when Parliament resumes

Opposition parties plan to resume their fight for the disclosure of documents on the firing of two scientists from Canada’s highest-security laboratory.

The parties would need to adopt another motion in the new Parliament, which begins Nov. 22, to compel the release of documents that could offer insight into why the government expelled and then fired Xiangguo Qiu and her husband, Keding Cheng, from Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-opposition-parties-want-documents-on-fired-winnipeg-scientists-when/