OTTAWA – Federal officials at the National Microbiology Laboratory are defending the Winnipeg facility's safety protocols against accusations of incompetence from opposition lawmakers.

Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) director Heather Jeffrey appeared before a parliamentary committee on Canada-China relations where she was bombarded with questions about the firing of two researchers in 2021.

PHAC has fired two scientists who left Canada after their security clearance was revoked amid questions about their loyalty and possible coercion by Beijing.

Documents tabled in parliament in February suggest that researchers Xiangguo Qiu and Keding Cheng, a couple, downplayed their collaboration with Chinese government authorities.

Conservative MPs, Bloc Québécois MPs and even a Liberal MP are accusing the Public Health Agency of Canada of being naive or incompetent for allowing them to carry out sensitive work while under investigation.

In her testimony, Ms. Jeffrey claimed that her colleagues had improved protocols and suggested that the fired scientists had “hidden and lied” about their connections.

The RCMP is currently conducting a national security investigation, although no criminal charges have been filed against Ms. Qiu and Mr. Cheng in connection with these allegations.

Bloc Québécois MP René Villemure told the committee he was “stunned” that “incompetent” PHAC staff had suffered no consequences after Ms Jeffrey suggested that only the two scientists would be punished.

Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith repeatedly asked Jeffrey whether updating protocols would have stopped the unauthorized shipment of pathogens to China, a question that was only theoretical, she clarified.

The Canadian Press