In wake of Winnipeg lab scandal, scientists say Canada benefits from new, high-security pathogen lab
CBC
Canada will soon have a second laboratory capable of working with the most dangerous pathogens in the world — home to Canada's Centre for Pandemic Research.
It will be the only non-government Level 4 facility in the country, part of the University of Saskatchewan's Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), which currently has a Level 3 lab.
"It's all about being ready for the next disease, right? I think the pandemic has shown us that Canada largely depended on other countries to do the critical research, but also develop vaccines," said Volker Gerdts, director and CEO of VIDO.
"By upgrading to the highest level, to Level 4, we're able to in the future work with any pathogen, whether it's a human or an animal pathogen."
The renovations should be finished next year. The centre already includes a bio-manufacturing facility and will build housing for exotic species, including bats, which are used in research.
The upgrade comes as the federal government is updating the Human Pathogens and Toxins Act to improve biosafety and biosecurity measures for high-containment labs — and as the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)'s Level 4 lab in Winnipeg has been criticized for lax security in a case involving two scientists originally from China.
In July 2019, Xiangguo Qiu, her husband Keding Cheng and their students were escorted out of the National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) and stripped of their security clearances. They were fired in January 2021, triggering concerns about Chinese espionage.
An assessment by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) found that Qiu had "intentionally" shared scientific information with China.
VIDO has been working "closely" with CSIS for years, and while it boasts scientists from 30 countries, Gerdts said it is not collaborating with researchers in Russia and China, two countries with military and state agencies considered the highest risk to national security.
Gerdts declined to comment on the scandal. He said VIDO follows the federal government's new research security guidelines.
"I'm not really concerned about any security breaches," he said. "We have an impeccable safety record. We have not had any problems so far.
"In fact, I would say we're — at the moment, at least — the leading facility when it comes to biosafety in Canada."
Some of the top scientists who have led the special pathogens program at the NML — and are now working in the United States — say a second Level 4 lab is good news for Canadians.
"I'm sure a lot of positive will come out of that," said Gary Kobinger, who worked at the NML from 2008 to 2016. He now runs the Level 4 Galveston National Laboratory at the University of Texas.
