A central player in the ArriveCAN scandal has been accused of taking unusual steps that led to Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) emails being destroyed, a charge he denies.
According to an internal complaint filed by a CBSA employee that was obtained by
The Globe and Mail, Canada’s Chief Technology Officer Minh Doan allegedly moved data files around in a manner that led to them being lost during his tenure at the CBSA.
It is thought the documents could have been relevant to an Access to Information Request related to the agency’s interactions with GC Strategies, a company involved in the development of the ArriveCAN app.
Mr. Doan denied the allegations in an email to The Globe and Mail, saying he had not destroyed any emails. He said the allegation appears to be a bid by government employees to pin the blame on him for their own actions, despite “growing evidence that demonstrates I had no relationship with any of the vendors in question.”
The House of Commons Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates has been investigating the development of ArriveCAN for months. The app was used to track the COVID-19 vaccination status of travellers entering Canada. Critics of the app have said it could have been developed for much less than its $64 million price tag.
A central question in the investigation has been who made the decision to hire GC Strategies to build the app. The small company outsourced the contract work for the app to six other companies, keeping a commission of between 15 and 30 percent.
Mr. Doan was the vice-president and chief information officer of the CBSA when the agency launched ArriveCAN in 2020.
He told the Committee on Government Operations and Estimates (OGGO) in November 2023 that he did not choose GC Strategies, but that he was responsible for the “strategic direction” of the app’s development, which involved outsourcing it.
But the agency’s former director Cameron MacDonald testified before the committee that not only was Mr. Doan responsible for choosing GC Strategies, but that he
threatened to blame Mr. MacDonald for the decision during a phone call. Mr. MacDonald and another former CBSA employee involved with ArriveCAN were
recently suspended from their government jobs without pay, a decision that some Conservatives on OGGO have said
appears to be “retaliation” for their criticism of the agency.
Auditor-General Karen Hogan has promised to table a report on ArriveCan on Feb. 12. Procurement Ombudsman Alexander Jeglic will also release a report on ArriveCan next week.
