Public Accounts Committee on Aug. 7th, 2024

[Diane Daly]

No. I just made sure...as any administration, as any unionized employee, is instructed to follow management's requests. This email came in to my direct report. I was the direct report to the executive director. What I've been accused of is incorrect. She had sent an email to him asking for payment for two deliverables. I have that in writing, by the way. I just did the right thing—

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Could you supply that?

[Diane Daly]

—and I got her paid. I made sure of that, because people should be paid.

Now, I want to give some context—

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

[Inaudible—Editor] to take payments?

[Diane Daly]

I don't remember what.... I didn't know about Ritika Dutt until she got to the October 26 OGGO meeting, to be honest with you, to be very honest with you.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Was that even though there had been communications between Botler AI and yourself?

[Diane Daly]

Yes, and part of that was the payment. She thanked me for it, which I have evidence of.

I was instructed by the human resources branch at CBSA that because of COVID, they could no longer continue with the contract. Those were sent to the main contractor, not Ms. Ritika Dutt, who was not the main contractor—

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

That confuses me. Explain why you feel that COVID is the reason the contract didn't persist, when in fact it's been accused that Botler attempted to erase these allegations with you. Then, the result of those allegations wasn't an investigation; however, it was the termination of Botler's AI contract, which seems to me like intimidation or retaliation at the very least.

[Diane Daly]

Botler never had a contract with us. They were a subcontractor. In other words, they had a separate agreement with, I believe, GC Strategies. They themselves were not the contractor on record. Let's be very clear. Any business arrangement is outside the purview of any Government of Canada employee to deal with them. I made that very clear in writing—

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

This is the problem, Ms. Daly, where Botler has no.... You're saying that they were a subcontractor. How could you be a subcontractor without knowledge of being a subcontractor? When it came to light that Botler was in fact a subcontractor through GC Strategies, they raised that concern with you directly. That concern, via email, constitutes a misconduct report, according to the CBSA's policies. Why is it, then, that the misconduct report wasn't investigated by you or wasn't flagged for investigation?

[Diane Daly]

It did not deal with misconduct. Let's be very clear. She had some personal issues with her relationship with, I think, Coradix and GC Strategies, if I'm not mistaken. To be clear, I offered to say, “If you're not happy with this relationship, Ms. Dutt, I'll be happy to contact Dalian and tell them to remove you from the TA.”

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Then you did have direct contact with these contractors.

[Diane Daly]

We did.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Why would you say the opposite?

[Diane Daly]

I didn't say the opposite.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

I asked you at the very start. I said, “Have you ever communicated with any contractor using your or their personal emails or phone numbers?”

[Diane Daly]

Email addresses.... I said I don't remember.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

You said no, and then I gave you evidence of one. How much don't you remember about the communications between these companies, like GC Strategies and the subcontractors, when it seems to me that you obviously had a relationship with these contractors—

[Diane Daly]

Relationship, sir—

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

—so much to the extent—

[Diane Daly]

No. I had no relationship, sir.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

—that they were terminated.

[Diane Daly]

No. Sir, let me revisit what you said. Let me answer exactly what you asked me.

Do I remember having communicated through a personal email with a supplier? Is that not correct?

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

That's correct, and you said no. Then I gave you evidence of—

[Diane Daly]

I don't remember any is what I said.