A parliamentary committee in the Canadian House of Commons has agreed to investigate the country’s security screening procedures following the arrest of a Canadian NATO intern facing espionage charges in Belgium. The decision was made after the Conservative and Bloc Québécois parties requested an emergency committee meeting to look into the spying allegations against the intern.
During a meeting of the public safety and national security committee on Monday, Members of Parliament from various parties agreed to prioritize convening three times to delve into the issue when Parliament reconvenes in September. The committee plans to summon Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree and any other necessary witnesses to testify. Subsequently, it will present its findings and recommendations to the House.
While the identity of the defendant in Belgian criminal investigations is typically not disclosed publicly, an investigation by CBC News revealed that the accused spy is Biwei Zhang, a systems engineer with an economics background who was interning at NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Mons, Belgium.
Although Biwei Zhang is the suspect’s legal name, she professionally goes by Claire Zhang and uses the name Catina Zhang on her Facebook profile. Belgian authorities suspect her of espionage on behalf of a foreign country and of involvement in a criminal organization.
The scrutiny over Canada’s security screening processes has intensified, with Conservative public safety critic Frank Caputo urging parliamentary oversight given the gravity of the spying allegations against Zhang. Caputo emphasized the need to investigate how an individual accused of espionage managed to secure an internship within a significant military alliance and raised concerns about the security screening, information-sharing, and monitoring mechanisms in place at the time.
The NATO internship obtained by Zhang necessitated a thorough security clearance, which Canadian authorities, specifically the RCMP and CSIS, would have been responsible for conducting due to her Canadian citizenship.
Following the arrest of the alleged spy by Belgian authorities, Canada’s public safety minister pledged to thoroughly investigate the matter, acknowledging the severity of the charges. Prime Minister Mark Carney affirmed that Canadian officials have been actively involved in the case since its inception.
CBC News uncovered Zhang’s professional history within various Canadian government departments, including roles as an economist at Statistics Canada and a systems engineer at the Canadian Space Agency. Additionally, Zhang had previously worked at the World Trade Organization in Geneva and the European Space Agency in Italy before graduating with a master’s degree in computer science specializing in artificial intelligence from the University of Ottawa.
The day before the suspect was apprehended by Belgian authorities on charges of espionage and association with a criminal organization, her residence and workplace at SHAPE were searched according to a statement from Belgium’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office.