This is false. “The website was actually registered by WE in August 2019, long before the launch of the student service grant.” Demonstrably false. https://torontosun.com/news/national/trudeau-government-handed-we-a-personal-data-goldmine

WE has (literally) produced the receipts knocking down the theory that they registered the domain before cabinet approval.

Why does this matter? Because if govt was promoting a website WE controlled as early as April 22, a month before cabinet approval, it would support the claim that the fix was in.

The govt did use the phrase “I Want to Help” on April 22. And the domain http://iwantohelp.org , now controlled by WE, was registered a year earlier. But — and this matters — WE didn’t register it in 2019.

In fact, that domain had been previously registered to the United Way of Miami-Dade county, to fundraise for Haiti earthquake relief. Then it went dormant and, it appears, the registration lapsed and was bought up by domain name speculators.

So, the government comes up with a name for the CSSG platform and tells WE at some point. WE then goes to register the matching domain name, find it is has already been registered, and agrees to buy it. WE acquired the domain on June 2, and the WHOIS listing shows this.

WE then changes the name server and registrant of the domain to the domain service it already uses for its other sites. The new name servers show up in the WHOIS listing but the registration date, properly, remains listed as Aug 2019.

So, to the lay reader (and reporter) it might look like WE registered that domain in 2019, which in turn makes the govt’s April 22 “I Want To Help” announcement look like it was written to conform with a pre-existing WE site. But that’s not the case.

But the evidence shows the govt came up with a name, and WE later bought the matching domain name. I recognize this this is technical and a lot of detail, but they are important details.

I also recognize that historical WHOIS searches may be beyond some reporters covering this story. They should consult with people who understand WHOIS, so we are all left better informed and not sucked into theories unsupported by evidence. -30-