Documents from the Canadian Intelligence Agency and a security investigation revealed that two Canadian scientists of Chinese origin working in the largest microbiology laboratory in Canada had "passed secret scientific information to China, one of which represents a real and credible threat to Canadian economic security," according to the American newspaper "The New York Times."

The newspaper mentioned that the Canadian House of Commons (Parliament) received, on Wednesday, hundreds of pages of reports related to researchers Xiang Kai and her husband Keding Qing, both of whom were born and married in China.

According to "The New York Times" as well, the reports received by the Canadian Parliament came after a national security review by a special parliamentary committee, and another committee consisting of 3 senior retired judges.

The disclosure of these documents was the subject of lengthy debate in the Canadian Parliament that began before the last federal elections in September 2021. 

Opposition parties requested to view the documents the government wants to keep secret at least four times, and found that the Liberal government "disrespected" Parliament in 2021. 

Some political opponents of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused his government of "failing to respond appropriately to Chinese interference in Canadian affairs," according to the newspaper.

However, Canadian Health Minister Mark Holland told reporters late last Wednesday that "no secrets or national information threatening Canada’s security have ever come out of the laboratories”.

The documents revealed that Dr. Xiang did not disclose that she had entered into formal agreements with Chinese institutions in which she agreed to pay large sums of research money. 

She also agreed to be paid an annual salary of 210,000 Canadian dollars (about 155,000 U.S. dollars).

The whereabouts of the couple were not specified, and they do not appear to have any clear representatives in Canada. The documents issued on Wednesday also do not include any public response from the couple. 

During previous investigator interrogations, Dr. Xiang repeatedly said she "was not aware she violated any security rules," and blamed the Health Agency for not fully explaining procedures. She also "tried to mislead investigators until she was confronted with conflicting evidence," according to "The New York Times."

The Canadian Intelligence Agency also found that Dr. Xiang "repeatedly mismanaged her relationships with researchers and organizations in China," describing these relationships as "close and confidential."

In one secret report, the intelligence agency said that when asked about her exchanges with scientists and organizations in China, she "continued total denial, pretended ignorance, or told outright lies," according to "The New York Times."

The couple came under suspicion in 2018 when Dr. Xiang was named on a patent granted in China, which appeared to use research developed by the agency for an Ebola virus vaccine, according to the newspaper.

Internal investigation found that Dr. Xiang’s trip to Beijing in 2018 was paid for by a Chinese biotechnology company.

In 2019, the couple was dismissed from working at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Manitoba, Canada, before their security clearances were later revoked and they were permanently terminated in January 2021.

Canadian officials, who warned that academic and research institutions in the country are targets of Chinese intelligence campaigns, tightened rules regarding cooperation with foreign universities. 

Canadian universities can now be excluded from federal funding if they enter partnerships with any of 100 institutions in China, Russia, and Iran.