PPC candidate is the suspended DND employee embroiled in the ArriveCAN scandal
David Yeo's candidate website boasted of being against mandatory vaccine passports. At the same time, his two-person, Indigenous-owned company made millions on the mandatory government travel surveillance app used to quarantine and fine returning Canadian travellers during COVID lockdowns, thanks to race-based contract awards.
Yeo, the People's Party candidate for West-Nepean in the 2021 federal election, is also the CEO of Dalian Enterprises, which received $7.9 million for the company's work on the ArriveCAN app.
DND suspends contracts with ArriveCan contractor after learning CEO is a DND employee https://t.co/mDbaf8LBQQ
— CTV News (@CTVNews) February 29, 2024
"Due to the serious nature of the concerns raised, DND is launching an internal investigation into the matter," a departmental spokesperson told CTV News in an email.
"The individual has been suspended while this investigation is underway. We are in the process of suspending contracts with Dalian."
According to The Globe and Mail, Dalian was awarded the contract as part of a federal government program aimed at giving preferential treatment to Indigenous-operated companies.
Ottawa reviewing Indigenous contracting program linked to ArriveCan contractors, Hajdu says /https://t.co/yLW1QpUG55 “Indigenous leaders have questioned how Ottawa runs the set-aside for Indigenous business”
— David Mulroney (@David_Mulroney) February 28, 2024
Dalian's website also claims that the firm is veteran-owned. Through joint ventures with another company, Coradix, the two-person company has received numerous federal contracts, prompting a review of the procurement process favoring Indigenous bids. The two corporate entities have received a combined $400 million in federal contracts.
Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu is answering questions about the legitimacy of a company that says it’s Indigenous owned and received millions of dollars in government contracts under the Indigenous procurement policy including the ArriveCan app. pic.twitter.com/bv531OWKB6
— APTN News (@APTNNews) February 28, 2024
In an all-candidates debate in September 2021, Yeo railed against the notion of proof of vaccination and the burden the discriminatory policy would place on service workers.
PPC candidate David Yeo talking about the evils of vaccine passports back in 2021
— The Pleb 🇨🇦 Reporter (@truckdriverpleb) February 29, 2024
His firm would later receive 7.9 million dollars to work on ARRIVESCAM
This is WILD pic.twitter.com/na4q1sgWta
A website listing Yeo as a PPC candidate in 2021 describes him as an "Entrepreneur, War Veteran, and direct descendant of a Treaty Signing First Nations Indigenous Chief, Chief Robert Franklin of the Alderville First Nations (Great-grandfather)."
The "reasons for running" as submitted by the "candidate or their team" were to "ensure EVERY business is essential and end the lockdowns" because the "PPC is against mandatory vaccination, mandatory vaccine passports, and the PPC supports pipelines."
Sheila Gunn Reid
Chief Reporter
Sheila Gunn Reid is the Alberta Bureau Chief for Rebel News and host of the weekly The Gunn Show with Sheila Gunn Reid. She's a mother of three, conservative activist, and the author of best-selling books including Stop Notley.