Roundup: The Winnipeg Lab documents revealed at last

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We finally got a look at the Winnipeg Lab documents yesterday, and the reason why those two research scientists were fired, and it’s certainly far more innocuous than the lurid tales that certain Conservative MPs have been telling over the years. The short version is that the scientists in question, likely out of sheer naïveté and belief in the goodness of science, were far too trusting of Chinese counterparts, and didn’t like to follow rules and protocols when they didn’t feel like it, and eventually, lied to CSIS security screeners about their activities. This doesn’t appear to be some kind of major espionage, but a pair of scientists were entirely too precious, and were used to having their own way, and became security risks as a result, hence their termination.

It shouldn’t have taken this long to see the documents, but this was a whole dog-and-pony show for the Conservatives, who demanded—bizarrely­—that the Commons’ law clerk do the redactions for the documents rather than trained public servants, never mind that the clerk has no national security training and doesn’t know what to look for in terms of potential security issues. Even though the government turned the documents over to NSICOP in an unredacted form, the Conservatives went and boycotted the committee for theatrical reasons alone, and eventually, the government came up with an ad hoc process that involved MPs from all parties and retired judges to go through the documents, and it took years longer than it should have if they just let NSICOP do its work in the first place. There was no reason for them to object and to do this song and dance, and make false accusations about what was being hidden, and yet they carried on like this for years for absolutely no reason.

Predictably, Pierre Poilievre is trying to make this an issue about Justin Trudeau “allowing” this potential security breach, except that these scientists did most of their work in the Harper era, and the Public Health Agency of Canada is an arm’s-length agency, which the government cannot micro-manage. Kind of like CBSA. There has been zero contrition from Michael Chong about the fact that he has been spinning outright fictions and conspiracy theories about these documents for the past four years, but he sold out his integrity years ago, so none of this is surprising. And now that these documents have been released, I will point out that reporter Dylan Robertson was getting these stories and had the context of their firing correct when he was reporting on this for the Winnipeg Free Press years ago. That reporting all stands up with the release of these documents, and he deserves major props for it.

Ukraine Dispatch:

Russians bombed the Kharkiv region, killing four people including a six-year-old girl and a priest. Here’s a look at the new chief of military intelligence for Ukraine, who has hinted that the country’s previous counter-offensive plans wound up in Russian hands before it had begun. Ukraine’s finance minister says they need about $3 billion in foreign aid per month in order to maintain macroeconomic stability through the year.

Good reads:

  • The government will bring back visa requirements for Mexican nationals in a bid to curb asylum claims, but it won’t be as harsh as those the Conservatives imposed.
  • Ahmed Hussen says that Canada is looking to provide airdrops of aid into Gaza with like-minded countries such as Jordan.
  • Ya’ara Saks has denied Alberta’s request for safer-supply drugs to have a unique chemical identifier because they aren’t made specifically for that programme.
  • Jonathan Wilkinson explains how the government is reforming the home retrofit programme to make it more accessible to lower-income households.
  • The federal government will provide a $128-million loan for a “green” hydrogen project in Newfoundland and Labrador.
  • The interim Ethics Commissioner’s appointment is about to expire, and there has been no word about whether a permanent replacement has been found.
  • One of the ArriveCan contractors turns out to be an employee of DND, and has now been suspended pending an internal investigation.
  • Here’s a look at how a Russians arms maker has been getting around sanctions as they acquire Canadian and other Western country’s parts and materials.
  • NDP MP Daniel Blaikie is resigning his seat to go work for Manitoba premier Wab Kinew as a senior advisor on intergovernmental affairs.
  • Oh, look—the chair of the Ontario judicial appointments committee is a registered provincial lobbyist, as though Ford’s conduct on this file couldn’t be any worse.
  • Alberta energy companies are failing to pay municipal taxes to the tune of $43 million, which is a problem that doesn’t seem to eb getting any better.
  • Kevin Carmichael reminds us that no, it’s not 1995, it will not always be 1995, and this constant fretting about a relatively small deficit isn’t helping anyone.
  • Emmett Macfarlane gives a more in-depth response as to why Doug Ford’s comments on his judicial appointments are dangerous for our legal system.
  • Paul Wells gets responses to his queries, and takes a deep dive into the response on the government’s Canada Digital Adoption Programme.

Odds and Ends:

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One thought on “Roundup: The Winnipeg Lab documents revealed at last”

  1. Matthew Bondy: This month, Bondy, who served as a deputy chief of staff in the premier’s office … is actively registered to lobby on behalf of five companies in the non-profit and for-profit sectors.

    I keep thinking it’s going to be hard for Doug to sink any lower but, one has to admire the man’s persistence. He did it again!

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