A federal judge has dismissed the appeal of two ArriveCan executives seeking to quash an investigative report alleging criminal wrongdoing, says Blacklock's Reporter.Antonio Utano and Cameron MacDonald, who were both suspended without pay on January 11, were never formally charged with any crime.In his ruling, Justice Russel Zinn of the Federal Court acknowledged the concerns of the executives regarding their "careers, reputations, dignity and livelihoods." However, he stated there were "no exceptional circumstances warranting this court to overstep its jurisdictional boundaries to intervene."Utano and MacDonald admitted to socializing with federal contractors but denied any involvement in insider dealing that allegedly enriched favored suppliers. The ArriveCan app, initially budgeted at $6.3 million, has known costs to date of $59.5 million. "We are not responsible for the $60 million," MacDonald testified at a February 22 hearing of the Commons government operations committee.The suspensions of Utano and MacDonald stemmed from an internal Preliminary Statement of Facts completed on December 18 by Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) investigators. Despite their suspensions, they remain the only federal executives to face disciplinary action over ArriveCan irregularities.An uncensored version of the 360-page Statement of Facts has not been made public, and no copy was introduced as evidence in court. However, Zinn confirmed he reviewed a confidential version. Excerpts and summaries of the report were read into the record by Conservative MP Larry Brock (Brantford-Brant, Ont.) during a February 5 committee hearing. “I have the information right before me,” MP Brock stated. “It is very clear.”The report alleged "serious employee misconduct," prompting an RCMP investigation into potential fraud and bribery charges. One contractor allegedly solicited a bribe, according to the report. Additionally, documents suggested a third CBSA executive attempted to destroy ArriveCan records under investigation, which included approximately 1,700 emails spanning four years.Cabinet has yet to explain the runaway costs of the ArriveCan program or the preferential treatment of certain contractors. "I am deeply concerned," Auditor General Karen Hogan testified on February 12 at the Commons public accounts committee. "We did not find records to accurately show how much was spent on what, who did the work, or how and why contracting decisions were made."Conservative MP Michael Barrett (Leeds-Grenville, Ont.) questioned the value received from the program. "Did Canadians get value for money?" he asked. Hogan responded, "We paid too much for this."
