A parliamentary committee in the House of Commons has agreed to review the security screening procedures in Canada after a Canadian NATO intern, who has been arrested by Belgian authorities, is facing allegations of espionage.
The decision to conduct the review follows a call for an emergency committee meeting by the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois to investigate the spying accusations against the intern. During a meeting of the public safety and national security committee, Members of Parliament from different parties agreed to prioritize three sessions to examine the issue when Parliament reconvenes in September.
The committee plans to summon Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree as a witness and may call upon other relevant individuals to testify. The committee will then present its conclusions and suggestions to the House.
Although the identity of the defendant in the Belgian criminal investigation has not been publicly disclosed, a CBC News investigation revealed that the accused spy is Biwei Zhang, a systems engineer with an economics background who served as an intern at NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Mons, Belgium.
The investigation disclosed that Biwei Zhang is the legal name of the suspect, who professionally goes by the name Claire Zhang and uses the name Catina Zhang on her Facebook profile. Belgian authorities suspect Zhang of espionage on behalf of a foreign country and allege her involvement with a criminal organization.
The Conservative public safety critic, Frank Caputo, raised concerns in an open letter to the committee chair, emphasizing the need for parliamentary oversight due to the gravity of the allegations against Zhang. Caputo highlighted the necessity to examine how an individual accused of spying could secure an internship within a crucial military alliance of Canada and questioned the adequacy of the security screening processes in place at the time.
The NATO internship obtained by Zhang mandated a thorough security clearance, which Canadian authorities, particularly the RCMP and CSIS, were responsible for conducting given her Canadian citizenship.
Following the arrest of the alleged spy by Belgian authorities, Canada’s public safety minister pledged to investigate the matter thoroughly, acknowledging the seriousness of the charges. Prime Minister Mark Carney affirmed that Canadian officials have been actively involved in the case from the outset.
CBC News also discovered that the former NATO intern had held positions in various Canadian government departments. Zhang’s resume indicated previous roles as an economist at Statistics Canada and a systems engineer at the Canadian Space Agency. In 2023, the Public Service Commission of Canada found Zhang guilty of fraud for applying to the Canada Border Services Agency under multiple identities but failed to clarify the situation, leading to a dismissal of her application after a federal judge’s review in 2024.
According to her resume, Zhang has also worked at the World Trade Organization in Geneva and the European Space Agency in Italy. She recently completed a master’s degree in computer science specializing in artificial intelligence from the University of Ottawa.
The day before the arrest on charges of espionage and involvement in a criminal organization, Belgian authorities conducted searches at Zhang’s residence and workplace at SHAPE, as stated by the Federal Prosecutor’s Office of Belgium.