Haiyan Zhang.....Having a great old time!

Fired as Chinese spy, federal bureaucrat "still high in Canada"

Having a great old time!

She was accused of being a Chinese spy, fired from a senior-level position in the public service, and left in limbo for two and a half years, but Haiyan Zhang still believes Canada is a great country.

OTTAWA - She was accused of being a Chinese spy, fired from a senior-level position in the public service, and left in limbo for two and a half years, but Haiyan Zhang still believes Canada is a great country.

Zhang, 43, has fought to get her job back ever since the fall of 2003, when she was dismissed as a senior analyst in the Privy Council Office. A background check by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service concluded she was a threat to national security, but she never saw the evidence substantiating that claim.

''Despite what happened to me, there are many things I cherish dearly (in Canada) that are not present in China,'' Zhang said in an interview. ''I think I have come to a more profound understanding of this country. I used to think this country was a perfect country. I now think this country is a work in progress towards a perfect country.''

Last December, the Public Service Labour Relations Board concluded the government bungled her case, ordering it to reinstate her as a public servant and compensate her with two years in back pay. Now, the government is saying it was unable to find her a new job, effectively firing her for a second time.

''I don't think this country should be a country of tragedies. So as disappointed as I am, I think if I try, and if everyone looks at this country as a potential model for many other countries, this is a wrong that can be righted,'' said Zhang, a native of Lanzhou, China, who became a Canadian citizen in 1999, four years after moving to Ottawa.

''I have come to realize that citizenship is not just about enjoying the benefits. It's also about helping to make sure that whatever we have, continues to be there.''

PCO officials told Zhang they had security concerns because of her background as a former employee of the New China News Agency, the official press agency of the Chinese government. However, Zhang said intelligence officials had already reviewed her background before she immigrated to Canada. She added that her supervisors were also aware of her previous experience when they enticed her to leave a permanent senior-level position at Industry Canada to accept her new job at the PCO, the administrative arm of the prime minister and cabinet, in February 2003.

''The fact that I come from a country that's not always viewed positively does not always help me,'' she said. ''But I know who I am, and I can speak to you with 100 per cent confidence that I have not done anything that would substantiate those kinds of allegations.''

Officials from Zhang's union, the Public Service Alliance of Canada, were baffled by the government's actions in the case, particularly after federal officials decided not to appeal a similar ruling that ordered the reinstatement of Edith Gendron, who was fired two years ago from Canadian Heritage because of her volunteer work with a Quebec sovereigntist group.

But the latest developments in Zhang's case come as Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay are publicly expressing concerns about industrial espionage in Canada spearheaded by the Chinese government.

''We need to be careful and take precautions like any nation, but we can't do it to the extent where we're firing people from their jobs and taking away fundamental rights,'' said regional PSAC vice-president Ed Cashman. ''If you reflect on it, 10 years ago, if you were Russian or Bulgarian, you were bad.''

A spokesperson from the Treasury Board Secretariat refused to comment since the federal government is challenging the labour relations board ruling in court.

But with the backing of her union, Zhang said she would continue her fight for everyone in Canada.

''As painful as it is, what I went through is not something anybody should go through if they're an immigrant or not,'' she said. ''It's about citizenship. It's about a member of our society as Canadians, and how they should be treated. But ultimately, Canada is not made up of only the federal government and the public service. It's the citizens.''