What the hell is going on in Canada?
Obsessive Attentive reader may recall some odd little news bites coming out of Canada in 2019 - 2020:
Then last year (June 4, 2021) the Globe and Mail published "Whereabouts of two scientists fired from Winnipeg virus lab for possible national-security issues shrouded in mystery"
And a couple days ago, this, from the Globe and Mail, June 22, 2019:
Whereabouts of fired Winnipeg scientists at centre of national-security investigation still unclear
A year and a half after two Canadian scientists were fired from Ottawa’s top-security infectious-disease laboratory over alleged national security breaches, it is still unclear whether the couple are now in China or living at an undisclosed location in Canada.
The RCMP are conducting a criminal investigation into allegations related to their time at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.
The Liberal government has said only that the firing was related to sensitive national-security matters. It is preparing to provide secret documents about their dismissal to a special committee.
In June of last year, The Globe reported that Xiangguo Qiu, a former head of a virology program at the laboratory, and her biologist husband, Keding Cheng, were no longer living at their home in Winnipeg.
Last week, The Globe returned to properties they own in Winnipeg but did not find the couple, who lost their security clearances in July, 2019, and were dismissed from their jobs in January, 2021.
They have not publicly commented on why they were dismissed. Nor has Dr. Qiu responded to recent questions from The Globe about whether their dismissal was related to the transfer of highly infectious viruses to China’s Wuhan Virology Institute or sharing of scientific data with Chinese Communist Party officials.
The couple own two homes in Winnipeg, including a rental property. They also own a property in cottage country in Gimli, Man. Their two sons live in the principal residence, valued at $1.2-million.
The sons would not talk to the media. Another family rents the second residence, valued at $524,000, but said they do not know where the scientists are. Two neighbours approached by The Globe would not provide their names, but said they thought the couple were in China.
A former colleague of the couple said it’s his understanding that they own a home in China. He did not know where. The Globe is not identifying the colleague, who did not want to speak publicly about his conversations with Dr. Qiu and Mr. Cheng.
RCMP Sergeant Paul Manaigre would not say if the Mounties know the couple’s location, but said the criminal investigation continues.
Exactly why the two scientists were fired has been a contentious political issue in Parliament. At first, the government would not disclose any information about the reasons, and even took House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota to court last year for trying to obtain documents....
....MUCH MORE
To their everlasting credit the Globe and Mail's Robert Fife and Steven Chase are the ones bulldogging the story, along with Shannon VanRaes on the latest piece.
