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Trudeau official threatened with contempt for evasive answers over scandal-ridden ArriveCAN app

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From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

The once-mandatory ArriveCAN app cost taxpayers over $50 million, $8.9 million of which was given to an obscure company called GC Strategies which was operated by a two-man team out of an Ontario home

During a parliamentary investigation into the misuse of funds used to create the federal government’s controversial COVID-era ArriveCAN travel app, Canada’s chief federal technology officer was threatened with contempt of Parliament charges for refusing to give clear answers to questions from MPs regarding his involvement with the much-maligned app.  

On November 14, Minh Doan, Canada’s chief federal technology officer, testified before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates (OGGO) regarding his connection with the ArriveCAN travel app. In cross-examination, Doan “struggled to give direct answers to simple questions,” said Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) MP Kelly McCauley, who serves as the committee chair. 

“Refusal to answer questions or failure to reply may result in a charge of contempt,” stressed McCauley, before adding, “This has been repeated to you several times.” 

The OGGO is investigating how various companies such as Dalian, Coaradix, and GC Strategies received millions in taxpayer dollars to develop the contentious quarantine-tracking ArriveCAN app. 

Indeed, recently, LifeSiteNews reported how two tech entrepreneurs testified before the committee that during the development of the ArriveCAN travel app they saw firsthand how federal managers engaged in “extortion,” “corruption,” and “ghost contracting,” all at the expense of taxpayers.

McCauley added that Doan had been asked a lot of “direct questions.” 

“I normally don’t do this but there have been very specific questions and we’d like very specific answers. Taxpayers deserve that. Canadians deserve that. Parliament deserves that,” he said. 

LifeSiteNews reported earlier this month that the federal government was exposed for hiding a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) investigation into the ArriveCAN app from auditors.

 Canada Auditor General Karen Hogan announced an investigation of the ArriveCAN app last November after the House of Commons voted 173-149 for a full audit of the controversial app. 

Witnesses named Doan as person who approved contract to GC Strategies  

Witnesses have named Doan as the manager who hired GC Strategies, which was awarded an $8.9 million contract without any counter tenders offered. GC Strategies was operated by a two-man team out of a home in Woodlawn, Ontario.  

According to evidence relayed to the public by Blacklock’s Reporter, GC Strategies was shown to have taken home a commission worth close to 30 percent, or $2.7 million. The company then assigned all the work to subcontractors.  

Doan, for his part, justified his dealings with the “relatively small” company by saying “[w]e followed the rules. No rules were broken as far as I’m concerned.” 

According to an assistant deputy health minister, it was Doan himself who had decided to hire GC Strategies. 

He has denied this, however, saying, “I still do not know who picked up the phone and asked them to solicit a bid in the first place.”  

“I made a technical and strategic decision which led to GC Strategies,” he said, adding that, “I am accountable for that decision. I am responsible for that decision.” 

Doan also gave non-answers to CPC MP Garnett Genuis when asked when he first heard of GC Strategies. According to Doan, he didn’t “become aware of the existence of GC Strategies until well into the pandemic.” 

ArriveCAN was introduced in April 2020 by the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and made mandatory in November 2020. The app was used by the federal government to track the COVID jab status of those entering the country and enforce quarantines when deemed necessary.

When the app was mandated, all travelers entering Canada had to use it to submit their travel and contact information as well as any COVID vaccination details before crossing the border or boarding a flight. 

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COVID-19

Court compels RCMP and TD Bank to hand over records related to freezing of peaceful protestor’s bank accounts

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Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announces that a judge of the Ontario Court of Justice has ordered the RCMP and TD Bank to produce records relating to the freezing of Mr. Evan Blackman’s bank accounts during the 2022 Freedom Convoy protest.

Mr. Blackman was arrested in downtown Ottawa on February 18, 2022, during the federal government’s unprecedented use of the Emergencies Act. He was charged with mischief and obstruction, but he was acquitted of these charges at trial in October 2023. 

However, the Crown appealed Mr. Blackman’s acquittal in 2024, and a new trial is scheduled to begin on August 14, 2025. 

Mr. Blackman is seeking the records concerning the freezing of his bank accounts to support an application under the Charter at his upcoming retrial.

His lawyers plan to argue that the freezing of his bank accounts was a serious violation of his rights, and are asking the court to stay the case accordingly.

“The freezing of Mr. Blackman’s bank accounts was an extreme overreach on the part of the police and the federal government,” says constitutional lawyer Chris Fleury.

“These records will hopefully reveal exactly how and why Mr. Blackman’s accounts were frozen,” he says.

Mr. Blackman agreed, saying, “I’m delighted that we will finally get records that may reveal why my bank accounts were frozen.” 

This ruling marks a significant step in what is believed to be the first criminal case in Canada involving a proposed Charter application based on the freezing of personal bank accounts under the Emergencies Act. 

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Alberta

COVID mandates protester in Canada released on bail after over 2 years in jail

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Chris Carbert (right) and Anthony Olienick, two of the Coutts Four were jailed for over two years for mischief and unlawful possession of a firearm for a dangerous purpose.

From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

The “Coutts Four” were painted as dangerous terrorists and their arrest was used as justification for the invocation of the Emergencies Act by the Trudeau government, which allowed it to use draconian measures to end both the Coutts blockade and the much larger Freedom Convoy

COVID protestor Chris Carbert has been granted bail pending his appeal after spending over two years in prison.

On June 30, Alberta Court of Appeal Justice Jo-Anne Strekaf ordered the release of Chris Carbert pending his appeal of charges of mischief and weapons offenses stemming from the Coutts border blockade, which protested COVID mandates in 2022.

“[Carbert] has demonstrated that there is no substantial likelihood that he will commit a criminal offence or interfere with the administration of justice if released from detention pending the hearing of his appeals,” Strekaf ruled.

“If the applicant and the Crown are able to agree upon a release plan and draft order to propose to the court, that is to be submitted by July 14,” she continued.

Carbert’s appeal is expected to be heard in September. So far, Carbert has spent over two years in prison, when he was charged with conspiracy to commit murder during the protest in Coutts, which ran parallel to but was not officially affiliated with the Freedom Convoy taking place in Ottawa.

Later, he was acquitted of the conspiracy to commit murder charge but still found guilty of the lesser charges of unlawful possession of a firearm for a dangerous purpose and mischief over $5,000.

In September 2024, Chris Carbert was sentenced to six and a half years for his role in the protest. However, he is not expected to serve his full sentence, as he was issued four years of credit for time already served. Carbert is also prohibited from owning firearms for life and required to provide a DNA sample.

Carbert was arrested alongside Anthony Olienick, Christopher Lysak and Jerry Morin, with the latter two pleading guilty to lesser charges to avoid trial. At the time, the “Coutts Four” were painted as dangerous terrorists and their arrest was used as justification for the invocation of the Emergencies Act by the Trudeau government, which allowed it to use draconian measures to end both the Coutts blockade and the much larger Freedom Convoy occurring thousands of kilometers away in Ottawa.

Under the Emergency Act (EA), the Liberal government froze the bank accounts of Canadians who donated to the Freedom Convoy. Trudeau revoked the EA on February 23 after the protesters had been cleared out. At the time, seven of Canada’s 10 provinces opposed Trudeau’s use of the EA.

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