Canada-China Relations committee  All employees and visitors, or visiting officials, are required to undergo a security screening process. The security requirements, or the clearance required, will depend on the nature of the work to be undertaken. This will be assessed on an as-needed basis. All individuals, hav

Canada-China Relations committee  It's core to our business. We take security very seriously and ensure that appropriate screening is followed. As directives on security evolve, our policies are aligned, and updated to ensure that we are in compliance with both directives and specific legislation as they pertai

Canada-China Relations committee  Scientists who will become part of the NML complement, as employees, undergo a very rigorous security screening process. Depending on their particular line of work, they will require not only a security clearance protocol but also very in-depth training that is appropriate to the

Canada-China Relations committee  Thank you, President Stewart and Mr. Chair. In fact, material transfer agreements are used as part of the transfer of materials under a set of circumstances when they are warranted, which includes the protection of intellectual property rights. There are additional considerati

Canada-China Relations committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, President Stewart. Yes, the materials that were shipped to the Wuhan Institute of Virology included Henipah viruses as well as Ebola viruses. These are both in the order of mononegavirales. They are two different families within that order. I

Canada-China Relations committee  The global community has collaborated extensively in the response to COVID-19, including through the convening power of the World Health Organization. The sharing of sequence data from China on the weekend of January 10 was what made the NML able to develop our first generation t

Canada-China Relations committee  My apologies, Mr. Chair, but I am....

Canada-China Relations committee  With respect to how visiting officials are handled when working at the National Microbiology Laboratory, following the development of the working officials policy, which is in the final status of its current review, a working official agreement is required prior to working at the

Canada-China Relations committee  There is an existing security policy. The National Microbiology Laboratory requires a secret clearance and a number of other supportive documents prior to commencing work at the NML, but we are an organization of continual improvement and the latest iteration of the working offic

Canada-China Relations committee  Mr. Chair, it's not necessarily a significant change. It is just an ongoing review of these policies and of the development of streamlined processes.

Canada-China Relations committee  Mr. Chair, to complete the answer, when we received the letter from the director of the Wuhan Institute of Virology with respect to the intended use of the viruses, it stated they were to be used for understanding the pathophysiology—the nature of infection—as well as the develop

Canada-China Relations committee  Mr. Chair, should I answer?

Canada-China Relations committee  Mr. Chair, there is an extensive approach that is undertaken prior to the transfer of materials, and the Wuhan Institute of Virology is an organization dedicated to public health.

Canada-China Relations committee  Mr. Chair, every transfer of material is assessed on a case-by-case basis. We have never transferred coronaviruses to the Wuhan Institute of Virology; therefore, we have not assessed the question as structured.

Canada-China Relations committee  Mr. Chair, prior to the transfer, one of the essential aspects of the transfer process is receiving a letter from the receiving institute with respect to their intent.