Honourable senators, my next question for the government leader concerns the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.

Senator Ngo stated earlier that the Trudeau government is refusing to comply with an order from the other place to produce uncensored documents on the firing of two scientists from the Winnipeg lab. This government is so desperate to hide what it knows about collaboration between Canadian federal researchers and Chinese military scientists that it is willing to defy the House of Commons and be found in contempt. This is yet another example of the mockery that the Trudeau government has made of its so-called commitment to openness and transparency. It’s a total sham.

Will your government reverse course and publicly release the full, unredacted documents, or will the Trudeau government continue to hide what it knows from Canadians?

Leader, in a September 2018 email, the former head of the microbiology lab, Dr. Matthew Gilmour, wrote his colleagues about concerns about viruses being exported to China and the lab’s cooperation with Chinese military scientists. Dr. Gilmour questioned the nature of the work, why certifications were not provided, why the lab materials were required and how such a group of researchers came to be connected with the microbiology lab. Those are all good questions, and it is surprising that the former Scientific Director General of the laboratory had to ask them.

Leader, two scientists were escorted out of the lab and later fired. Why? They have since apparently disappeared. Where are they? The Chinese military scientists received high-level clearance to work at the lab. How did that happen?

Why is the Trudeau government afraid to answer basic questions about the security breach at our most important lab?