Civil servant involved in ArriveCan project denies accusations he lied to committee, deleted emails

One of the key public servants surrounding the ArriveCan controversy is refuting accusations that he lied to MPs about his involvement in selecting an outside contractor for the project.

Minh Doan, a former Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) employee, appeared before the House of Commons government operations committee on Wednesday night.

The RCMP have been investigating GC Strategies, one of the main contractors for the ArriveCan project.

Doan maintained that he was not the one who brought GC Strategies, despite previous testimony that it was he who selected the company. He said he was given two options for the project and selected a specific direction, but that GC Strategies wasn't specifically mentioned in options that were presented to him.

«I did not decide on a company,» he said. "[The] proposal contained only technical information and did not include any information regarding GC Strategies. They were never mentioned, nor did I make any decision to specifically engage them."

This is the first time that Doan has appeared at the committee since the release of an auditor general report in February that said the ArriveCan project's final cost was 'impossible to determine' due to poor government record-keeping.

Auditor General Karen Hogan's best estimate of the total cost is just under $60 million. She said the government's over-reliance on outside contractors contributed to the ballooning costs.

Hogan's report also raised concerns about CBSA officials having a close relationship with certain contractors, noting that the officials in question were invited «to dinners and other activities.»

GC Strategies received roughly $19 million for ArriveCan — more than any other company — according to the auditor general, though the firm