Fired scientists in Canada failed to protect sensitive information, newly released records say

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Two scientists at Canada’s top infectious disease laboratory lost their jobs after reviews found they failed to protect sensitive assets and information, and failed to acknowledge collaborations with China, newly released records show.

The scientists, Xiangguo Qiu and her husband, Keding Cheng, were stripped of their security clearances in 2019 at Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory over questions about their loyalty to Canada and the potential for coercion or exploitation by a foreign entity, the documents say.

More than 600 pages were made public Wednesday five years later following a special all-party review of the records.

The records show Canada’s spy agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, assessed that Qiu repeatedly lied about the extent of her work with institutions of the Chinese government and refused to admit involvement in various Chinese programs, even when evidence was presented to her.

Opposition parties hoped the documents would shed light on why Qiu and Cheng were escorted out of Winnipeg’s National Microbiology Laboratory in July 2019 and subsequently fired in January 2021. The two have not publicly commented and are reportedly in China.

Three former senior judges had the final say on public disclosure of the newly disclosed documents, which are partially redacted.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service concluded that, despite being given every opportunity in her interviews to describe her association with Chinese entities, “Ms. Qiu continued to make blanket denials, feign ignorance or tell outright lies.”

A November 2020 Public Health Agency of Canada report on Qiu says investigators “weighed the adverse information and are in agreement with the CSIS