A parliamentary committee in the House of Commons has decided to examine the security screening procedures in Canada following the arrest of a Canadian NATO intern by Belgian authorities on espionage charges.
The decision was made after calls from the Conservative and Bloc Québécois parties for an emergency committee meeting to investigate the spying allegations against the intern. During a meeting of the public safety and national security committee, members from different political parties agreed to prioritize holding three meetings to delve into the issue when Parliament resumes in September.
The committee plans to summon Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree as a witness and may call upon other relevant witnesses as needed. Subsequently, it will present its findings and recommendations to the House of Commons.
Although the identity of the defendant in the Belgian courts is usually not disclosed during criminal investigations, a CBC News investigation revealed that the accused spy is Biwei Zhang. She worked as a systems engineer with an economic background and was interning at NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Mons, Belgium.
The investigation revealed that Biwei Zhang uses multiple names, including Claire Zhang professionally and Catina Zhang on her Facebook profile. Belgian authorities suspect her of spying for a foreign country and being associated with a criminal group.
The Conservative public safety critic, Frank Caputo, raised concerns about Canada’s security screening processes in light of the allegations against Zhang. Caputo emphasized the need for parliamentary oversight to understand how an individual accused of espionage could secure an internship within a crucial military alliance.
Zhang, a Canadian national, underwent a thorough security clearance process to obtain the NATO internship, which would have involved checks by Canadian authorities such as the RCMP and CSIS.
Following the arrest of the alleged spy by Belgian officials, Canada’s public safety minister pledged to investigate the matter thoroughly, acknowledging the severity of the charges. Prime Minister Mark Carney affirmed that Canadian officials have been actively engaged in the case from the outset.
A CBC News investigation revealed that Zhang had previously held positions in various Canadian government departments. Her resumé indicated past roles as an economist at Statistics Canada and a systems engineer at the Canadian Space Agency. Additionally, she had worked at the World Trade Organization in Geneva and the European Space Agency in Italy. Zhang recently completed a master’s degree in computer science specializing in artificial intelligence from the University of Ottawa.
The day before Zhang’s arrest on espionage and criminal organization charges, Belgian authorities conducted searches at her residence and workplace at SHAPE, as stated by the country’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office.