A parliamentary committee in the House of Commons has agreed to investigate Canada’s security screening procedures following the arrest of a Canadian NATO intern by Belgian authorities on espionage charges. This decision was made after the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois demanded an urgent committee meeting to look into the spying allegations against the intern.
During a meeting of the public safety and national security committee, Members of Parliament from various parties agreed to prioritize meeting three times to delve into the issue when Parliament reconvenes in September. The committee plans to summon Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree as a witness and invite other relevant individuals to provide testimony. Subsequently, the committee will present its findings and recommendations to the House.
Although the identity of the defendant in the Belgian criminal investigation remains undisclosed, a CBC News investigation identified the accused spy as Biwei Zhang, a systems engineer with an economics background who was interning at NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Mons, Belgium.
It was revealed that Biwei Zhang is the legal name of the suspect, who professionally goes by Claire Zhang and uses the name Catina Zhang on her Facebook profile. Belgian authorities suspect Zhang of espionage activities on behalf of another country and being associated with a criminal group.
The Conservative public safety critic, Frank Caputo, expressed concerns in an open letter to the committee chair regarding the seriousness of the allegations against Zhang, prompting a call for parliamentary scrutiny. Caputo emphasized the need to investigate how an individual accused of spying managed to secure an internship within a crucial military alliance of Canada and what security screening processes were in place at the time.
The NATO internship obtained by Zhang required a thorough security clearance, a process overseen by Canadian authorities, specifically the RCMP and CSIS, due to her Canadian nationality.
Following the arrest of the alleged spy by Belgian authorities, Canada’s public safety minister pledged to investigate the matter thoroughly, acknowledging the gravity of the charges. Prime Minister Mark Carney later confirmed Canadian officials’ involvement in the case.
CBC News also discovered that the former NATO intern had previously held positions in various Canadian government departments. Zhang’s resume revealed past roles as an economist at Statistics Canada and a systems engineer at the Canadian Space Agency. Additionally, it was found that Zhang had faced allegations of fraud in 2023 related to job applications at the Canada Border Services Agency under different identities, which led to a judicial review dismissing her appeal in 2024.
Moreover, Zhang’s professional history included positions at the World Trade Organization in Geneva, the European Space Agency in Italy, and recent graduation with a master’s degree in computer science specializing in artificial intelligence from the University of Ottawa. The day before the suspect’s arrest by Belgian authorities on charges of espionage and involvement in a criminal organization, her residence and workplace at SHAPE were searched.