Public Accounts Committee on March 19th, 2024

[David Yeo]

I'd have to check with our staff and ask them that. I'm not aware. Obviously they had to have some interaction between the task authorization request and our relationship with GC, but I'm not aware of the details of what they discussed as far as Botler is concerned.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

These forged résumés that gave preferential access and eventually the awarding of the bid are tremendously disingenuous and are defrauding Canadians.

I want you to know how serious this issue is and to understand that providing any assistance from your company to the forgery of documents is illegal.

Do you understand that?

[David Yeo]

Absolutely. That's why we're just as dismayed as everybody else as to why and how we could have gotten this information wrong.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Whose letterhead were these résumés on?

[David Yeo]

I would expect that given our relationship as the prime to CBSA we would have staffed up the package for the task authorization to them as part of the requirements package. It would have gone on Dalian letterhead, but I'm not sure exactly what the interaction or documents or letterhead was between Botler and GC—

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

You're misrepresenting facts, Mr. Yeo.

That's completely disingenuous to then say your company never had any access to Botler, that your only relationship was with GC Strategies, and then you just now confirm that the résumés that were forged were on your company's letterhead. Is that true?

[David Yeo]

Again, I am not—

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Can you repeat that? Is what you just said true? Are the forged résumés on your company letterhead?

[David Yeo]

I can give you the process. I have never seen anything—

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Mr. Yeo, can you please answer yes or no to the fact that you just submitted.

[David Yeo]

I understand what the process would be because I understand task authorizations, but I have not seen any of the paperwork personally.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

You have not seen the paperwork but you just said you know the forged documents are on Dalian letterhead.

[David Yeo]

I can assume that, obviously, with us as the prime and giving the CBSA this documentation as part of the task authorization, it would have gone on Dalian letterhead—

[The Chair, Conservative, John Williamson]

Thank you very much.

I'm afraid that is your time, Mr. Desjarlais.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Mr. Yeo, it has been extremely disappointing to see this level of misrepresentation.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Williamson]

We're turning now to Mr. Genuis. You have the floor for five minutes, please.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Thank you, Chair.

Mr. Yeo, your company has two people. Is your partner indigenous?

[David Yeo]

He is.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

He is. Okay.

You got $7.9 million for ArriveCAN alone, even though, as you've testified, you didn't do any actual work on the app.

How many indigenous Canadians, besides you two, benefited from that big, fat cheque the government wrote Dalian for ArriveCAN?

[David Yeo]

Our interpretation is that it's $4.9 million, but the aspect of—

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Your interpretation is that you know better than the Auditor General.

[David Yeo]

I'm just telling you the facts from our side.

We actually went out to the Auditor General on the 30th—

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

I think that's absurd, sir.

I want to focus on the indigenous procurement component of it. How many indigenous people, besides you and your partner—

[The Chair, Conservative, John Williamson]

Let me just stop the clock, Mr. Genuis.

I will remind everyone, because this has come up time and time again, that the Auditor General's terms do not allow her to go into companies like Dalian, which is the one before us.

You sent her documents. From her perspective, they could have been irrelevant.

You will all recall that the Auditor General noted that she came up with these numbers based on what the Government of Canada provided her. That's just a point of clarification for the committee.

It doesn't change any of your questions, Mr. Genuis. I just wanted to put it out there that this is an ongoing debate about the scope of ArriveCAN, and I think it is an important one.

We don't know what the answer is. That's why these committee meetings are happening.

Mr. Genuis, you have the floor for four and a half minutes.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Yeo, besides the two people at your company, how many indigenous people benefited from the $7.9 million that the Government of Canada gave you for the work you did on ArriveCAN?