Only one day after the federal government announced it would be reviewing its program to help Indigenous contractors, news came to light that one of the CEO’s of a company that prompted the review also works for the Department of National Defence.
David Yeo was confirmed by the DND to be an active employee, but Yeo is also the CEO of Dalian Enterprises, a company which received $7.9 million to work on the ArriveCan app.
Yeo has since been suspended but remains employed with the department.
“Due to the serious nature of the concerns raised, DND is launching an internal investigation into the matter,” a spokesperson for the DND 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.”
The email claimed that the investigation would be finished promptly, however, no deadline was given.
“We take these concerns very seriously and the internal investigation will be thorough…,” reads the email.
Dalian Enterprises presents itself as Indigenous-owned and the company has received $400 million in government contracts along with Coradix, another company.
A review of how these Indigenous-owned business contracts are awarded was announced by Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu on Wednesday
The Trudeau government’s policy is that 5% of total government contacts must go to Indigenous-owned businesses by 2024.
Yeo is allegedly employed on the civilian side of the DND as a member of the Materiel group, according to multiple sources, reports CTV News.
It wasn’t just the DND who were awarding Dalian Enterprises contracts however, they also received them from the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency, among others.
