Conservative accuses Liberals of shutting down debate on Winnipeg lab security breach
CBC
A Conservative MP is accusing the Liberals of shutting down debate on how two scientists studying deadly viruses at a special lab in Winnipeg were able to work closely and covertly with China — and how the federal government responded to the national security scandal.
"This is a grave and serious matter," Conservative MP and foreign affairs critic Michael Chong said before the committee got underway Monday morning.
Conservative MPs on the standing committee on access to information, privacy and ethics moved a motion Monday asking for an emergency meeting to discuss their request to study the recent release of federal documents related to the dismissal of two scientists — Dr. Xiangguo Qiu and her husband Keding Cheng — from the National Microbiology Lab.
According to the documents tabled by the federal government, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) concluded Qiu was "intentionally" sharing scientific information and materials with China — potentially putting people's health in jeopardy.
The intelligence service also said it believed Cheng was not truthful in his interviews and had worked with a restricted visitor at PHAC "who is connected to [China's] People's Liberation Army."
When confronted over her ties to China, "Ms. Qiu continued to make blanket denials, feign ignorance or tell outright lies," said a June 2020 CSIS assessment.
The Public Health Agency of Canada ultimately decided to dismiss the pair, stating that "Dr. Qui represents a very serious and credible danger to the government of Canada."
Last week, Health Minister Mark Holland acknowledged the documents reveal a "lax adherence to security protocols."
Chong, who is not a permanent member of the committee, said the released documents represent the start of an inquiry, not the end.
"Parliament has a job to hold the government accountable," he told the committee.
The Conservative MPs' motion calls on multiple players to take questions from committee members, including the head of departmental security at PHAC, CSIS director David Vigneault, the prime minister's national security adviser Nathalie Drouin and members of cabinet, including Health Minister Mark Holland and Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc.
Before the committee voted on the motion, Liberal MP Iqra Khalid — who was part of an ad hoc committee that worked to release the redacted documents — moved that the meeting be adjourned.
She called it "unacceptable" that the two scientists lied to PHAC about their work in China but said the motion was not within the committee's mandate and did not reach the bar for an emergency meeting.
"It's not necessary, it's not urgent," she said.
It was sometime in 2008 that Henry Walter got a message from his lawyer.
When Fredericton High School student Matthew Jeon wanted to start saving money for university, he started applying for summer jobs.
After yet another major flood at the Sainte-Croix Hospital in Drummondville, Que., family doctor Catherine Tétreault says the situation at the facility has reached a point of no return.
As the calendar is about to flip to an election year in Winnipeg, the time is growing short for candidates to mount a serious electoral challenge to Mayor Scott Gillingham.
Claude Hardenne occasionally tries out new packaging or moulds for his locally made chocolates, but he would never tinker with the recipes Harden & Huyse has used for almost 50 years.
The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld the first-degree murder conviction of the gang leader at the centre of the murder of Tiki Laverdiere.
As temperatures plunge and Islanders crank up the heat, the City of Summerside is preparing its power plans amid mounting pressure on P.E.I.’s electricity grid.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
Ten years ago, Canada responded to the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Syria with an unprecedented program that rapidly resettled 25,000 Syrian refugees in roughly 100 days.
Alberta separatist leaders expect to start canvassing in January to get their independence referendum question on the ballot, thanks to the provincial government’s latest legislation to make it easier for them to succeed.
With the holiday season fast approaching, plenty of people are making a list and checking it twice. But for many in Thunder Bay, Ont., a hot meal is their number one concern of the season.
As Mayor Olivia Chow heads into what could be her final year leading Toronto — or final test before she asks voters to re-elect her in the fall — she’s reassuring ratepayers that they won’t see property taxes rise as sharply as they did earlier in her term.
Health Minister Marjorie Michel says she worries about how recent actions by U.S. public health agencies, like removing a universal hepatitis B vaccine recommendation for American infants, could hurt Canadians’ health.