Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to answer your questions concerning your study on the ArriveCAN application and, more recently, concerning the allegations put forward by Botler AI regarding the work undertaken when I was at the Canada Border Services Agency.
Directly and by innuendo, it has been conveyed to this committee that I have committed wrongdoing. I have not. My reputation and career have been attacked, and damage has been inflicted on me both personally and professionally. Today, I will present the facts, and I will speak clearly and honestly about all my actions. I welcome transparency and accountability.
We have provided a brief to this committee with evidence that will substantiate all statements and facts outlined below.
Regarding ArriveCAN, at the onset of the COVID pandemic, I was an executive director at the CBSA, responsible for the prototype and design division, which included the mobile centre of excellence team. In early March 2020, the Public Health Agency of Canada, PHAC, asked the CBSA for urgent assistance to develop technical capabilities needed for contact tracing at the border. No such capabilities existed at that time.
The technical team was responsible for assessing technical solutions needed to fill this operational response in an extremely urgent timeline. Option analyses of this magnitude typically take months, and we were given less than five days. The technical team assessed six in total. Internal development was determined as not feasible, given a shortage of skill set and capacity, and the urgent timeline. An outsourced option was deemed necessary.
The two possible outsourced options were presented. These were the Deloitte and GC Strategies solutions. Both options were sent to the vice-president and chief information officer, Minh Doan, for consideration and a decision. At a team meeting, we were informed that the Deloitte solution was discounted, leaving mobilizing the GC Strategies solution as the only option.
The ArriveCAN app and all its technical components evolved considerably throughout the pandemic from the original concept design. It was created through a collaboration of CBSA employees and over 19 technology vendors. One of these was GC Strategies.
The entire agency's pandemic contact tracing response cost $55 million. This was not all technology development. The breakdown of the spending is published information, and I have included it again for reference.
All GC Strategies task authorizations related to ArriveCAN followed all procurement guidelines. Contracting was overseen and managed by PSPC. My responsibility remained to ensure that the technology requirements were met and delivered on time, and they were.
I will now address the separate issue of Botler AI. To be clear, Botler AI did not work on ArriveCAN and was in no way part of the ArriveCAN program. My involvement with the Botler feasibility study was limited.
On September 27, 2021, shortly after I assumed the role of acting director general, I received an email from Ms. Dutt, with a c.c. to my team. The email raised two issues. The first was a late payment to Botler from the prime contractor, Dalian and Coradix. The second was discontent regarding a private partnership they had established, specifically on the collaboration between Botler AI, Dalian and Coradix, and GC Strategies.
The CBSA responded to Ms. Dutt within 24 hours. This included resolution to the delayed payment, and we reminded Ms. Dutt that the contract between CBSA and Dalian and Coradix had contractual privacy clauses preventing CBSA from discussing private or proprietary matters with subcontractors. Ms. Dutt's letter raised no concerns and no allegations about the CBSA or any of its employees, past or present. In fact, in a follow-up email the next day, Ms. Dutt praised the good relationship and positive experience she had enjoyed to date, working with the CBSA and its employees. Moreover, she expressed her appreciation for the prompt action, and the matter was considered closed.
In December 2021, CBSA's human resources branch declined further work and requested the cancellation of the Botler AI task authorization, citing capacity and staffing issues. The TA was cancelled, and I had no further contact with Botler AI.
I will close on a personal note. I have worked in the technology field for over 24 years. I've dealt with highly sensitive files, operations and Five Eyes partnerships, both domestically and internationally. I understand the seriousness of ensuring that my actions remain bound to the professionalism demanded of a position in the federal public service. I have always upheld these values.
Thank you for your time. I'm willing to answer any questions you may have.