Public Accounts Committee on March 19th, 2024

[David Yeo]

It was September 19, 2023 when I started my employment with the public service. As far as Corporations Canada getting their updates, as I said, my lawyers were putting all of the documents and everything together and staffing that for me. That's the date I guess that they have on record.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

When did you first become interested in working in the public service—

[David Yeo]

When did I first become interested?

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

—after the incorporation of your company?

[David Yeo]

I've really been working with the department for 36 years. It was just recently that I decided—because, you know, I have five, six, maybe seven years left of working—that I would actually look to go back and provide more value to the department by driving some of their large projects.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

In that time, did you disclose a potential conflict of interest?

[David Yeo]

As a contractor, I've been working with the department for 22 years. The discussions about me moving over to the public service have been very recent. I just signed on September 19.

I'm not sure if I answered your question or not.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

From September to March.... In the time between those two dates—the time you left Dalian and the time you were a public servant—did you declare a potential conflict of interest at any moment?

[David Yeo]

To the department?

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

To the department.

[David Yeo]

We were in the process of doing that over the fall and into January—getting all the documents and paperwork together to put everything into a blind trust and that sort of stuff. That's on me. We probably should have done that way before September 19, and we didn't, so I'm—

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Therefore, you're aware there is a conflict, which is why you undertook that work.

[David Yeo]

DND has come back out and said there was no conflict because of the.... I don't know why they.... The whole idea of the conflict is a bit nebulous to begin with, because of my position in DND and the documents I put together for Dalian. I've had no access or visibility into what they've been doing since the 19th, so—

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Regarding that blind trust, who is the trustee?

[David Yeo]

It's Kyle Dixon.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

How do you know him?

[David Yeo]

He's a member of my staff. He's been a stalwart worker of mine for a long time.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

At any point during your discussions of the declaration of conflict and with this employee you have...was the conversation of the paperwork that never got done...? At what point did he bring that up as a potential issue?

[David Yeo]

The paperwork did get done. It just could have been done on a more timely basis and prior to my joining on the 19th.

If you could repeat your question, I'll answer it.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

I'll ask it in a different way, if I can, Mr. Chair.

Did you know there was a potential conflict before your trustee made you aware of it, or did you ask your employee to be your trustee in the knowledge there may be a potential conflict?

[David Yeo]

No, I didn't ask my employee about it.

I have to make sure I get this right: The whole idea of putting in the appropriate documentation and putting things into a blind trust happened over all of the fall and into the early part of 2024.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

I don't understand why you didn't make that clear before.

[David Yeo]

I'm sorry. Clear in what way...?

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

At the very start of today's discussion, one of my Conservative colleagues put a question to you about a potential conflict here, and you flat out said there was no potential conflict. Now you're saying that you obviously knew of the potential conflict and filed paperwork to that degree.

[David Yeo]

No, we didn't expect a conflict to happen at all, because of the level of position I went into at DND. It's a very low-level position. There was no conflict awareness at all. We were just putting in the safeguards to make sure that, if there ever were one in the future, they would be in place.