The Commons Government Operations Committee on Tuesday learned emails by a manager of the $59.5 million failed ArriveCan program have vanished. MPs sought thousands of emails and texts by Minh Doan, former chief information officer for the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), per Blacklock's Reporter. The committee earlier was told some 1,700 emails could not be located. All concerned the awarding of sole-sourced contracts that made millionaires of favoured suppliers currently under RCMP investigation.“So convenient,” said Conservative MP Stephanie Kusie.“Something is rotten,” she added.“Canadians will be shocked with the response we have received as I am sure all committee members will be when they read this communication.”The email account used by the ArriveCan manager was “deleted following his departure from the CBSA.”Kusie read into the committee record a CBSA letter confirming evidence had vanished. “Evidence may no longer be available,” it said.“Are Canadians to believe you can conduct shady business, action which may be not be favourable to the people of Canada, leave your job, and just have none of your actions follow you?” asked Kusie.“You can commit wrongdoing in your position as a public servant in Canada, leave your position, and the trail behind you is deleted.”Doan in June 5 committee testimony said he mistakenly destroyed electronic records kept on his government-issue laptop. “I needed to change my laptop because the battery in my current one is failing,” testified Doan at the time. “When transferring files from my old computer to my new one, files were corrupted and emails were lost. I personally reported this.”The incident occurred in 2023 while ArriveCan investigations were underway.“How many emails?” asked Liberal MP Parm Bains.“I couldn’t tell you,” replied Doan.“The CBSA still has these laptops and files in their position. Everyone knows emails do not solely reside on a particular computer or laptop. They are delivered through servers where they are usually backed up.”“It doesn’t mean those emails don’t exist any longer. All those emails exist in the email accounts of all those who received emails from me.”Auditor General Karen Karen Hogan testified February 20 at the Commons Public Accounts Committee that it was impossible to know whether relevant documents were destroyed before they could be retrieved by investigators. “All these circumstances are just what they appear to be, circumstances,” said Hogan.“We still need accountability.”“When documentation doesn’t exist it is either they never existed or they were destroyed. In this case we can’t tell you which it was, but there is a glaring lack of documentation.”
The Commons Government Operations Committee on Tuesday learned emails by a manager of the $59.5 million failed ArriveCan program have vanished. MPs sought thousands of emails and texts by Minh Doan, former chief information officer for the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), per Blacklock's Reporter. The committee earlier was told some 1,700 emails could not be located. All concerned the awarding of sole-sourced contracts that made millionaires of favoured suppliers currently under RCMP investigation.“So convenient,” said Conservative MP Stephanie Kusie.“Something is rotten,” she added.“Canadians will be shocked with the response we have received as I am sure all committee members will be when they read this communication.”The email account used by the ArriveCan manager was “deleted following his departure from the CBSA.”Kusie read into the committee record a CBSA letter confirming evidence had vanished. “Evidence may no longer be available,” it said.“Are Canadians to believe you can conduct shady business, action which may be not be favourable to the people of Canada, leave your job, and just have none of your actions follow you?” asked Kusie.“You can commit wrongdoing in your position as a public servant in Canada, leave your position, and the trail behind you is deleted.”Doan in June 5 committee testimony said he mistakenly destroyed electronic records kept on his government-issue laptop. “I needed to change my laptop because the battery in my current one is failing,” testified Doan at the time. “When transferring files from my old computer to my new one, files were corrupted and emails were lost. I personally reported this.”The incident occurred in 2023 while ArriveCan investigations were underway.“How many emails?” asked Liberal MP Parm Bains.“I couldn’t tell you,” replied Doan.“The CBSA still has these laptops and files in their position. Everyone knows emails do not solely reside on a particular computer or laptop. They are delivered through servers where they are usually backed up.”“It doesn’t mean those emails don’t exist any longer. All those emails exist in the email accounts of all those who received emails from me.”Auditor General Karen Karen Hogan testified February 20 at the Commons Public Accounts Committee that it was impossible to know whether relevant documents were destroyed before they could be retrieved by investigators. “All these circumstances are just what they appear to be, circumstances,” said Hogan.“We still need accountability.”“When documentation doesn’t exist it is either they never existed or they were destroyed. In this case we can’t tell you which it was, but there is a glaring lack of documentation.”
