OTTAWA: Canada’s intelligence agency has told a court that its investigation into former federal scientist Dennis Lu began after concerns were raised by a government department, disputing suggestions that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) initiated the case independently.
During pre-trial proceedings, lawyers representing CSIS said Natural Resources Canada first alerted the agency in 2000 after receiving information about a visiting Chinese delegation reportedly invited by Lu without prior approval from departmental management. The intelligence service later briefed the department several times over the following years regarding security concerns.
Lu, 65, who previously worked as a research scientist at Natural Resources Canada, is facing charges of breach of trust and unauthorized use of a computer. Prosecutors allege he copied more than 2,500 government documents onto external storage devices using his access to the department’s computer network. He has not been convicted, and the allegations will be tested at trial.
Court proceedings also revealed new details about why nearly two years passed between the final CSIS briefing in early 2021 and the department’s formal internal investigation in 2023. Former departmental security official Brad Lanthier testified that staffing shortages and limited investigative capacity delayed the probe while the department reorganized its security operations.
Lanthier said growing concerns over foreign interference, intellectual property theft and Canada’s efforts to strengthen research security also influenced the decision to investigate. He told the court that officials reviewed Lu’s activities after learning about his extended leave in China and his request to teach there, which was ultimately denied.
As part of the investigation, Lu’s access to the department’s computer network was suspended while he was on leave, and investigators conducted targeted searches of his government emails using keywords developed with input from CSIS.
The case is scheduled to proceed to trial before an Ottawa Superior Court judge, where the allegations against Lu will be examined.
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