Fired scientists played down China links, failed to protect info: docs [Video]

OTTAWA –

Two scientists at a high-security laboratory lost their jobs after reviews found they failed to protect sensitive assets and information and played down their collaborations with Chinese government agencies, newly released records show.

The scientists, Xiangguo Qiu and her husband, Keding Cheng, were stripped of their security clearances 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 following a special all-party review of the records.

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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.

They also wanted to see documents related to the transfer, overseen by Qiu, of deadly Ebola and Henipah viruses …