OTTAWA, CanadaOTTAWA, Canada — OTTAWA, Canada (AP) — Two scientists at Canada's largest infectious disease lab have lost their jobs after reviews found they failed to protect sensitive assets and information and failed to not recognized their collaborations with China, according to recently published documents.

The scientists, Xiangguo Qiu and her husband, Keding Cheng, were stripped of their security accreditations at Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory in 2019 over questions about their loyalty to the country and the potential for coercion or exploitation by a foreign entity, according to the documents.

On Wednesday, five years later, more than 600 pages were made public following a special review of all files by all parties.

The documents show that Canada's spy agency, the Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), believed that Qiu had repeatedly lied about the extent of his work with Chinese government institutions and refused to admit his involvement in many of his programs, even when presented with evidence.

These documents risk further cooling relations between Ottawa and Beijing. In September, Canada announced a public inquiry into whether China, Russia and other countries interfered in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections, which saw the re-election of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party.

Opposition parties hoped the documents, partially redacted, would shed light on why Qiu and Cheng were escorted out of the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg in July 2019 and fired in January 2021. The couple did not no comments and was supposedly in China. .

CSIS concluded that although he had the opportunity during his interviews to describe his association with Chinese entities, “Qiu continued to categorically deny it, feign ignorance, or outright lie.”

A November 2020 report from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) on Qiu said investigators “reviewed the adverse information and agree with CSIS's assessment.”

Investigators determined that Qiu's loyalty “remains a serious concern” due to his direct contact with entities linked to a foreign country.

A PHAC report on Cheng's activities said he allowed restricted visitors to work in laboratories without supervision and that on at least two occasions he failed to prevent the departure unauthorized laboratory equipment.

Additionally, according to the report, he was unclear about his activities and collaborations with people from government agencies “from another country, particularly members of the People's Republic of China.”

Canadian Health Minister Mark Holland said Wednesday the documents revealed “lax adherence to security protocols” but insisted that at no time were national secrets or information threatening the country's security left the laboratory.