Prime Minister Mark Carney says that while he’s limited in what he can share about the case of the Canadian NATO intern recently charged with espionage in Belgium, Canadian officials have been involved since the beginning.
Carney made the comment in response to questions from reporters on how Canada is responding to the security risk posed by the spy case and whether security screening processes should be reformed.
“Anytime you have a situation, you should take stock and take lessons from this. The second thing is, look, it’s an active investigation, so I’m limited in what I can say,” Carney said, during an unrelated press conference in Toronto on Aug. 5.
“The only thing I would add, cryptically, is that Canadian officials have been involved from the start. Draw your own conclusions.”
The case was announced on July 25 by the Belgian prosecutor’s office, which described the unnamed Canadian national as being of “Chinese origin.” She is accused of spying on behalf of an unspecified “third country,” while authorities said she is suspected of being a member of a criminal organization.
The suspect was interning at NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Mons, Belgium, when she was arrested on July 24 after NATO security officials referred concerns about her conduct to Belgian authorities.
Profile information appearing to belong to the suspect lists past work at the Canadian Space Agency, Statistics Canada, and the National Research Council of Canada.
Commenting on July 27, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said he didn’t want to “speculate on this specific case,” but said the allegations are “quite serious” and merit a full investigation.
“Canadian law enforcement and Canadian authorities are continuously monitoring and will monitor the impact of the work this individual has done, if they have done any work in Canada,” he said at an unrelated press conference in New Westminster, B.C.
“Ultimately we need to get to the bottom of this, and we need to ensure that these types of incidents do not occur in the future,” he added.
Conservatives have questioned how the woman obtained clearance from the federal government to intern for the prestigious position at NATO, with Tory MP Dane Lloyd saying in a July 30 letter to Anandasangaree that the government must “ensure this never happens again.”
“That this individual was ultimately apprehended by Belgian law enforcement is an embarrassment for our country,” Lloyd wrote, noting the suspect’s apparent work history at various Canadian government positions, including the Canadian Space Agency.
“For the sake of Canadians and our NATO allies, I am calling on you to explain how this individual was cleared by the Government of Canada to work in such a sensitive position, and what measures you are taking to ensure this never happens again.”
The National Research Council of Canada, Statistics Canada, and the Canadian Space Agency previously told the Epoch Times that they cannot confirm the suspect’s identity or work history. They provided identical statements saying the case is being taken “very seriously.”
“We will continue to collaborate domestically and with our international partners to protect national security and preserve the integrity of the investigative process,” StatCan spokesperson Carter Mann said in a July 31 email to The Epoch Times.
Global Affairs Canada, the government department in charge of the required security clearance process that would have applied to the suspect, told the Epoch Times it is aware of the case and in contact with Belgian authorities.
The SHAPE internship program takes in 35 interns per year from NATO member nations, according to its website, which further notes that applicants have to first pass security screening in their own nation. It notes this process can take anywhere from two to eighteen months.
SHAPE is responsible for coordination of NATO military operations in Europe and says the spying case has not negatively impacted its operations.
The suspect remains in pretrial detention after a Belgian court denied her release following a closed-door hearing. None of the charges against her have been tested in court.
