Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Thursday that Prime Minister Mark Carney "has a lot of explaining to do" about how the government "failed" to screen a Canadian intern at NATO's Belgium headquarters who was arrested recently on espionage charges.
"How is it that this individual was not captured in the vetting process originally, but that other countries and governments were able to have the intelligence to find this troubling information?" Poilievre said while speaking with reporters in St. John's, N.L.
"Why is it that we keep learning about national security threats to our country from foreign governments?"
When Carney was asked by reporters about the case on Wednesday, he said that such situations require the government to "take stock and take lessons."
The prime minister said he is currently unable to comment on the matter in detail since it's an active case.
"Look, it's an active investigation so I'm limited in what I can say. The only thing I would add, cryptically, is that Canadian officials have been involved from the start," Carney said in Toronto. "Draw your own conclusions."
The Belgian prosecutor's office said on July 25 an investigating judge placed a Canadian national under arrest on charges of espionage and participation in a criminal organization.
The allegations have not been tested in court.
Neither Ottawa nor NATO are willing to say explicitly whether they are currently reviewing any of their screening policies in light of the incident.
The Treasury Board refused to answer directly when asked whether the case has prompted a review of the federal Policy on Government Security or the Directive on Security Management.
A Treasury spokesperson said in an emailed statement the department regularly evaluates government security practices but would not comment on a case currently under investigation.
At a Thursday news conference in Calgary, Defence Minister David McGuinty told reporters it would be "irresponsible" for him to comment on any specific aspects the case.
"The government is seized with the need to improve overall the approach to security clearances, not just for these kinds of positions but jobs involving public service contractors who are working on defence contracts," McGuinty said. "This is being addressed."
A statement from NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) said the alliance has nothing to announce at this time and would not publicly disclose information about its security procedures.
The intern in question worked at NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in Mons, Belgium.
Investigators did not say which country the suspect is accused of spying for. They said she was a "Canadian national of Chinese origin."
The Belgian prosecutor's office said it does not disclose the identities of suspects in ongoing investigations due to the presumption of innocence.
The suspect has appealed a ruling that says she must remain in pretrial detention.
A federal source not authorized to speak on the record said officials in Canada were proceeding on the basis that the suspect is Biwei Zhang — also known as Claire Zhang — who was previously employed by several Canadian agencies.
A variation of the name surfaced in the media shortly after the arrest. The European publication Follow the Money and media partners Le Soir, Knack and La Lettre reported the intern's identity as Claire Z.
The Canadian Press tried to contact Zhang via email for comment but has not received a response.
The story said she arrived in Mons in July 2025 to begin work at SHAPE's IT department. It also said the woman's social media accounts showed she previously undertook a 10-month internship at the European Space Agency's research centre in Italy and worked at the World Trade Organization in Switzerland, as well as for various Canadian government organizations.
A WTO official confirmed that Claire Zhang worked as an intern at the organization for a short period in 2023.
A LinkedIn profile for “Claire Z” fitting the suspect's description indicates the user holds a bachelor’s degree in applied economics from York University and a master’s degree in computer science and systems engineering from the University of Ottawa.
The profile said the user worked at the Canadian Space Agency as a systems engineer, at Statistics Canada as an economist and at the National Research Council as a data scientist.
The three federal agencies answered queries from The Canadian Press with identical responses.
"We take this matter very seriously," the space agency's Sandrine Masella said in an emailed statement.
"However, to respect the integrity of the investigation and the procedures of the Belgium Federal Police, who have not released the identity of the person in custody, we will not confirm specific details about the individual's identity at this time.
"We will continue to collaborate domestically and with our international partners to protect national security and preserve the integrity of the investigative process."
Court records said the Public Service Commission of Canada found in 2023 that Zhang committed fraud in an appointment process for a position with the Canada Border Services Agency. The Federal Court dismissed her application for judicial review of the decision the following year.
She apologized for this in a Federal Court filing.
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree has called the Belgian accusations against the Canadian suspect "quite serious."
In the days after the arrest, Anandasangaree said officials would look into whether the suspect had done any work for agencies in Canada.
“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 said.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
