Former Conservative staffer Dion Ahwai has been charged with tampering with data related to an investigation into the alleged theft of materials from Erin O’Toole’s Zoom account during the 2020 leadership race, the RCMP said on Wednesday.
During the pandemic-era contest that elected O’Toole federal leader of the Conservative Party, his team accused rival Peter MacKay’s camp of accessing and downloading videos they said contained sensitive strategic information.
MacKay’s campaign denied allegations of wrongdoing at the time, and O’Toole’s leadership campaign referred the matter of the alleged data theft to the police.
After the allegations surfaced, Greg McLean, a Calgary MP who supported O’Toole, fired a summer student in connection with the apparent infraction.
But O’Toole’s campaign said it detected several unusual logins to the account, as well as multiple downloads of what it called sensitive information.
He referred the matter to the RCMP. The national police confirmed to the media at the time that it was investigating the matter in conjunction with the Toronto Police Service.
On Wednesday, the RCMP stipulated that the “data damage” charge Ahwai faces has to do with obstructing, disrupting or interfering with the lawful use of computer data, as outlined in the Penal Code. He also confirmed that the charge is related to the 2020 allegations.
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Two sources with knowledge of the matter said the RCMP told senior members of O’Toole’s former leadership campaign about the charge on Tuesday. They were granted anonymity because they fear professional repercussions for speaking in public.
Ahwai did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent to her work email address and via Facebook on Wednesday.
He is scheduled to appear in court in Ontario on August 4, police said.
Former Tory staff member faces a #mischief charge for allegedly stealing Zoom from @erinotoole: #RCMP. #CDNPooi #CPC #DataTheft
A spokeswoman for O’Toole, who was removed as Conservative leader by a caucus in February, said she would not comment because the matter is before the courts.
Ahwai, a former House of Commons staffer, is currently listed as Vice President of Digital Campaigns at consultancy Wellington Dupont Public Affairs.
The firm also employs former MP Brian Storseth, who was co-chair of the campaign for MacKay’s leadership run in 2020, as a director.
In an emailed statement, Storseth said Ahwai was not working at Wellington Dupont at the time of the alleged data theft and referred questions to MacKay’s campaign.
Former MP Alex Nuttall, MacKay’s campaign manager at the time and the current mayoral candidate in Barrie, Ontario, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
According to records held by the House of Commons, Ahwai worked as Nuttall’s parliamentary assistant in 2018.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on July 13, 2022.