DND suspends contracts with ArriveCan contractor after learning CEO is a DND employee

Just a day after the federal government announced a review of its program to support Indigenous contractors, CTV News has learned the CEO of a company that prompted the review is an employee of the Department of National Defence.

Just a day after the federal government announced a review of its program to support Indigenous contractors, CTV News has learned the CEO of a company that prompted the review is an employee of the Department of National Defence (DND).

David Yeo is the CEO of Dalian Enterprises, which received $7.9 million for its work on the ArriveCan app.

The Defence Department confirmed Yeo is currently employed with them but has been suspended.

"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."

The spokesperson also told CTV News the investigation would be completed in a timely manner but didn't specify how long that would be.

"We take these concerns very seriously and the internal investigation will be thorough…," she wrote.