Public Accounts Committee on May 14th, 2024

[Erin O'Gorman]

That's certainly part of what I would expect our investigators to be looking at. I don't think they would break their work down by budget.

I guess that's where I'm struggling with the question. They are looking—

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

What about the 66 contractors?

[The Chair, Conservative, John Williamson]

Mr. Desjarlais, I'm afraid that is the time. I do plan to give you another round.

I'm turning now to Mr. Barrett.

You have the floor for five minutes, please.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

I want to talk about the dinner at Lansdowne. What was the venue?

[Chulaka Ailapperuma]

I believe it was Joey's.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

What date did this happen on?

[Chulaka Ailapperuma]

I apologize. I do not have the exact date.

I can provide it to you.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Please do.

How many people were there?

[Chulaka Ailapperuma]

If I recall correctly, there were maybe five people. It was between five and 10 people.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Who were they?

[Chulaka Ailapperuma]

I was there. Mr. Firth, his partner—I forget his name, but I believe it's Mr. Anthony—and Mr. Utano were there. I don't recall if Mr. MacDonald was there, but he may have been. Some other key members...contractors like Mr. Murphy....

That's about the number of people I can remember, sir.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Murphy is a contractor with...?

[Chulaka Ailapperuma]

He was one of the subcontractors through GC Strategies.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Was Minh Doan there?

[Chulaka Ailapperuma]

No, sir.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

What was for dinner?

[Chulaka Ailapperuma]

I believe I had a burger. There were appetizers and whatever Joey's food was.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

What about drinks?

[Chulaka Ailapperuma]

People had drinks.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Was it beer, wine, mixed drinks or soda?

[Chulaka Ailapperuma]

I had a beer.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

What did you say the discussions were about?

You said it was about the work...the day-to-day of ArriveCAN.

[Chulaka Ailapperuma]

Yes, we were working long hours, and we were talking.

My conversation was mostly about the challenges of implementing ArriveCAN from a technical point of view.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

What would Mr. Anthony and Mr. Firth have contributed to those conversations? They don't do any technical work. They bill. They billed more than 1,500 times. Their business is contracting. It's not IT work.

There was no grind. You talked about the grind of ArriveCAN, but for GC Strategies there was no grind. It was only grift. Their business was drumming up more business. It wasn't about programming.

What were their contributions to those discussions?

You're talking about programming. I'm not a programmer. If someone started into a conversation with me about programming, they might as well be speaking a language I don't understand—literally, in that case.

[Chulaka Ailapperuma]

That's absolutely correct. I didn't have much conversation with Mr. Firth or Mr. Anthony about programming. I was mostly speaking with the team members that I was working with.