National security risks | Partners of Quebec researchers on a blacklist

Dozens of Quebec university researchers are currently working on the development of sensitive technologies with Chinese partners affiliated with organizations that present a risk to national security, according to a list published by Ottawa on Tuesday. The federal government has announced that it will henceforth stop subsidizing projects of this type linked to foreign institutions considered to be at risk.

The list of organizations at risk was established by federal authorities in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Security, which used already public information, but also top secret information held by Canadian intelligence services as well as information obtained from allied countries of Canada.

From now on, it will be prohibited to request a federal grant for a research project in certain key areas that includes a researcher, funding or support from one of these institutions deemed problematic.

“These are organizations affiliated with military organizations, national defense organizations or security organizations of foreign states that present risks to the national security of Canada,” explained the ministers in a joint statement. François-Philippe Champagne, Mark Holland and Dominic LeBlanc.

Space stations and exoskeletons

Hot areas being targeted include research in advanced communications technologies, cryptography, cybersecurity, superconducting materials, advanced radars, satellites, space stations, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, synthetic biology and exoskeletons.

The country with the highest number of blacklisted entities is China, followed by Russia and Iran. The list includes Chinese establishments where researchers carry out joint research with colleagues from the University of Quebec network, Polytechnique, Laval, McGill and Concordia universities, among others.

Some areas of research are not a problem. Ottawa is not worried about research carried out with Chinese partners on language or certain health problems, for example.

But the Canadian blacklist also includes several Chinese institutions where researchers work on sensitive technologies with colleagues from Canada in general and Quebec, according to a compilation carried out by the specialized American firm Data Abyss.

Many links

For example, Canada considers that the following organisms pose a risk to national security:

• Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (Nanjing), some researchers of which are currently collaborating with scientists affiliated with the University of Quebec network in research on 5G technology and others with Concordia researchers for research on drones.

• Harbin Institute of Technology, whose researchers collaborate with partners at McGill University on artificial intelligence and space exploration.

• Beihang University, also called Beijing Aeronautics and Astronautics University, some researchers of which work with colleagues from the École de Technologie Supérieure in Montreal on securing intelligent and connected vehicles.

• The Beijing Institute of Technology, where researchers work on laser technologies in conjunction with Polytechnique Montréal and quantum computing with partners at McGill.

• Northwest China Polytechnic University, where a laboratory collaborates with Concordia researchers in research on hypersonic vehicle controls.

The federal government’s new policy was developed in collaboration with Canadian academia, says Ottawa. Government representatives repeated several times on Tuesday that it was not a question of stigmatizing a group of people or a country, but rather of gauging the risk posed by certain establishments linked to specific risks.

Some Canadian establishments will lose access to foreign resources used in research due to the new bans, but government representatives were keen to point out during a media briefing on Tuesday that the misappropriation and theft of technologies by certain actors foreigners had a cost.

Representatives of academic institutions met Tuesday afternoon to learn the details of the new policy and the implications for research. Many plan to react later this week after analyzing everything.

For the sake of procedural fairness, the new policy will not apply retroactively to suggestions that have already been granted, said Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.

“However, granting agencies have the authority to terminate grants, on a case-by-case basis, for reasons of national security. Several institutions have also announced that they would put an end to certain partnerships themselves,” underlined the Ministry in an email to The Press.

Pinned scientists

• In 2023, Wanping Zheng, a former Canadian Space Agency scientist, appeared on trial for breach of trust, after an investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) into the alleged use of his status to intervene in favor of from a Chinese space exploration company. Mr. Zheng is awaiting a verdict.

• In 2022, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested Yuesheng Wang, a researcher employed by Hydro-Québec accused of obtaining industrial secrets regarding batteries “for the benefit of the People’s Republic of China”.

• In 2018, U.S. authorities filed criminal charges against a McGill University professor, Ishiang Shih, after an FBI investigation into the theft of trade secrets allegedly used in China’s missile development. Mr. Shih’s trial has not started and he denies the accusations.