Suspended public servants say they're being scapegoated for telling the truth about ArriveCan

Two senior federal officials suspended without pay following allegations of misconduct in the awarding of government contracts told MPs Thursday they're being scapegoated by current and former executives of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

Antonio Utano and Cameron MacDonald, who both worked on the development of the ArriveCan app while employed by CBSA, made the comments while appearing before a parliamentary committee that has been studying the ArriveCan app for months.

They said they're being targeted for telling the same committee in November that senior CBSA executives misled Parliament when they appeared before MPs earlier in the fall to answer questions about the ArriveCan app.

MacDonald told committee members Thursday that after he and Utano testified in November, the CBSA launched an internal investigation and, in December of 2023, prepared a report based on the probe called the Preliminary Statement of Facts.

«The reality is, this document is nothing more than a collection of baseless accusations unsupported by any corroborating evidence, accusations of wrongdoing supported by cherry-picked emails and calendar entries. It should be called the preliminary statement of falsehoods,» MacDonald said.

The Preliminary Statement of Facts has not been released publicly and the allegations made against the men remain unclear.

The lawyer for MacDonald and Utano told CBC News his clients are seeking to have the statement sealed by a judge because the allegations it contains could cause irreparable damage to their reputation and careers.

Utano, now a director-general at the Canada Revenue Agency, and Macdonald, now an assistant deputy minister at Health Canada, told MPs on the government operations and estimates