Tory MP Calls on Feds to Ban Funding of Research in Collaboration With Chinese Military

Conservative MP Michael Chong rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on June 13, 2022. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang

Conservative MP and foreign affairs critic Michael Chong is calling on the Liberal government to ban all federal funding of Canadian research projects that are working in collaboration with the Chinese military.

“For years, the government has supported research with China’s military despite the advice of [the Canadian Security Intelligence Service] against doing so since 2018,” Chong said during question period in the House of Commons on Feb. 6.

Chong noted that Chinese military scientists were previously given access to Canada’s only Level-4 virology lab, the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.

Chong added that the federal government is also currently funding research with Beijing’s military university “in areas like quantum cryptography, photonics, and space science.”

Chong asked if the government “now understands the threat” posed by Beijing following the news of a Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon floating across North America last week before it was shot down by the U.S. government off the coast of South Carolina.

“Will it [the federal government] now issue a ministerial policy directive to ban research funding with China’s military?” Chong asked.

Liberal MP Jennifer O'Connell, who is also parliamentary secretary to the intergovernmental affairs minister, responded by saying all research projects done in collaboration with foreign governments are reviewed on national security grounds.

“We are working with universities to fill gaps where they exist,” O'Connell said, adding, “We will take the national security issues of this country very seriously.”

“We did establish a process with universities for research under security guidelines.”

Research

A U.S.-based data security company recently found that 50 Canadian universities worked in collaboration with Chinese military scientists from the National University of Defence Technology (NUDT) between 2005 to 2022, conducting research on advanced, sensitive technologies.

The Canadian institutions included the University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia, and McGill University, among others.

The study, conducted by Strider Technologies Inc. and first reported on by the Globe and Mail, found that collaborations with NUDT included 240 joint research papers published within the past five years by 10 of Canada’s top universities.

Federal Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne told a parliamentary committee on Feb. 2 that the collaboration is “unacceptable.”

“I’m looking to impose additional requirements when it comes to strengthening research security in Canada,” he told the Commons Standing Committee on Science and Research.

“We need to be eyes wide open, and we need to ensure that sensitive research and our [intellectual property] is adequately protected. And when it comes to national security … there is no compromise.”

Katabella Roberts, Isaac Teo, and Andrew Chen contributed to this report.