Minh Doan, the former chief information officer for the Canada Border Services Agency, testified before the Commons government operations committee Wednesdday, acknowledging that he deleted numerous emails related to the ArriveCan program. Blacklock's Reporter says he attributed the deletion to an unfortunate computer error, claiming that he corrupted the files while transferring them to a new laptop.Doan's testimony was met with skepticism by committee members, who pointed out that the deletion of over 1,000 records, including thousands of emails, had hindered auditors' investigations into irregularities in the $59.5 million program. When questioned about the extent of the deleted emails, Doan claimed that he couldn't recall the exact number.“I have nobody to protect. It was a very stressful and difficult time," he said.Conservative MP Michael Barrett highlighted the difficulty of investigating without access to the deleted records, which are likely scattered across numerous computers. Doan acknowledged that he made no attempt to retrieve the records, despite knowing that they existed on servers and in the email accounts of recipients.“I needed to change my laptop because the battery in my current one is failing,” testified Doan. “When transferring files from my old computer to my new one, files were corrupted and emails were lost. I personally reported this.”The committee also confronted Doan about a surviving text message in which he stated, "Can't throw Ministers under the bus." Doan claimed to have no recollection of the message, which was sent during the ArriveCan audits in October 2022. Liberal MP Larry Brock pressed Doan on who he was trying to protect, suggesting that his testimony was not credible.
