Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon.
Since giving my testimony, allegations have been made against me. I thank the committee for the opportunity to address them and elaborate further. Prior to my appearance on October 24, it had been six months since I left the CBSA. I asked for all of my emails from the agency related to the allegations. I received a package. Within that package, I found no exchanges with Kristian Firth. Subsequently, and in preparation for today, I requested and was given access to a broader search, which is when I found emails where either I or Mr. Firth were on the distribution list. I am providing them today. Given how complicated it is to access emails in a department you no longer work in, I will direct any further requests of this nature to the agency.
Early in the pandemic, PHAC contacted CBSA to see whether we could build an app to replace a paper form. We had days to pull together this proposal and weeks to launch the first version. I asked my team to explore options. Mr. MacDonald took the lead. Within 48 hours, he and his team did a very quick assessment of options that were narrowed down to two broad technical approaches. One option was an entirely outsourced solution developed and hosted by Deloitte. The other option involved a combination of public servants and staff augmentation to leverage the existing code expertise in our cloud infrastructure.
Let me be clear. At no time was a choice presented to me between a Deloitte solution and a GC Strategies solution. As was pointed out numerous times, GC Strategies is a staffing agency that provides rapid access to IT professionals. They do not develop solutions. I'm submitting to the committee the proposal and emails I found around the time of these events. You'll note that nowhere in either option presented, or in their associated emails, is GC Strategies ever mentioned, nor do I have any recollection of it being raised.
The decision I was asked to make was whether to fully outsource the work or to have my team oversee the application development. I had concerns about the outsourced solution, handing off full control of a time-sensitive project exclusively to an outside firm, and about the fact that our data would be hosted on their IT infrastructure instead of our CBSA cloud. I wanted my team to retain the ability to direct the development and resources. In making this decision, I did not choose or direct the selection of GC Strategies. I chose a strategic direction that met our urgent need for speed and agility at the time. Importantly, I also did not contact GC Strategies to solicit a proposal. As the CIO, I ruled out the entirely outsourced approach. I stand behind that decision, and I am fully accountable for that decision.
I particularly want to address the serious accusation Mr. MacDonald made that I threatened him during a call. I never threatened him. CBSA was preparing to testify and nobody knew who initially brought GC Strategies in on ArriveCAN. I called Mr. MacDonald, whom I trusted to answer this question. During the call, it remained unclear who had brought GC Strategies into ArriveCAN, but we agreed it was not me. I remember indicating to him that, if pressed at committee, I may have to redirect the question to him. To be clear, this was not a threat or intended to be one. It is fact. This committee will call further witnesses as required. If coming to this committee to answer that question was perceived as a threat by Mr. MacDonald, that was never my intention. I never said I would blame him, nor did I lay blame at his feet during my appearance one year later. I still don't know who initially contacted GC Strategies to solicit a proposal. I was in no position to threaten his job or career. He was an ADM peer working in a different department.
I have a note written by Mr. MacDonald the day after the call. It was published in The Globe and Mail on October 4. It states that I was not personally familiar with the GC Strategies company and that the decision to select this vendor was not made by me. That written statement by Mr. MacDonald is also consistent with what appears to be Botler's report that the committee quoted on November 7. I don't have the report, but I heard allegations that there were “conscious efforts...to isolate and control the flow and narrative of information” to the vice-president, and that the vice-president “didn't know that they'd been communicating back and forth”.
The past few weeks have deeply affected my professional and personal life, my family, children and friends, and my mental and physical health. Today I will openly answer all questions related to this study. However, on the advice of legal counsel, I will not answer unrelated questions about my career or my personal life. Enough harm has been done.