We now know that any threat to national security was not posed by disclosure of the documents, but by the activities the documents describe
Why did the government call an election in August, 2021, in the middle of a pandemic, just as Afghanistan was falling, and with more than two years left in its mandate? A good argument could be made that it was to shut down a Commons committee looking into the mysterious dismissal of two Chinese nationals from a top-secret Winnipeg research laboratory.
The affair raised the most disturbing questions, especially after the couple dropped out of sight. The RCMP are investigating whether any laws were broken, but there are also obvious questions surrounding security procedures at the lab: how the two were hired, what sort of vetting they were given, why they were permitted such latitude – Dr. Qiu was even allowed to bring students from China into the allegedly top-secret lab – and, of course, what caused them to be dismissed.
What could explain the government’s adamant, and illegal, refusal to release them? But of course: national security, old chap. Sources and methods. Couldn’t possibly. No amount of negotiation, no reasonable compromise – swearing committee members to secrecy, commissioning a panel of retired judges to review the documents, redaction by the Commons law clerk, and so on – could sway it. The documents contained “extremely sensitive” material, you understand.