[Azure]

Unreal.

Two scientists fired from Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg in 2019 had an “extensive relationship” with China that they did not properly disclose to Canadian health officials, according to documents that were finally released over four years later.

Health Minister Mark Holland tabled the documents in Parliament on Wednesday after a special ad-hoc committee formed to review the documents determined efforts to keep the information under seal was meant to avoid the “embarrassment” of the Public Health Agency of Canada, rather than protecting national security.

Holland later told reporters that the documents show an “unacceptable” security situation in the lab.

The documents detail allegations against scientists Xiangguo Qiu and her husband Keding Cheng, who were escorted from the National Microbiology Laboratory in July 2019 for reasons public health officials described as “relating to possible breaches in security protocols.” They were subsequently fired in January 2021.

The Winnipeg lab is Canada’s only Level 4 laboratory, designed to deal safely with deadly contagious germs such as the Ebola virus.

Cheng was accused of violating safety and security policies by inviting restricted visitors into the lab unaccompanied, who then allegedly removed materials from the lab. Investigators also found Cheng received packages of biological samples from China that were mislabeled as “kitchen utensils,” which the investigation concluded was done to ease the shipping process but not with Cheng’s knowledge.

https://globalnews.ca/news/10323939/...ents-released/