Man charged after fire at Canada Revenue HQ

OTTAWA ‘ A 33-year-old Ottawa man was scheduled to appear in court Monday after being arrested and charged with arson in connection with what police say was a fire at the Canada Revenue Agency’s headquarters.

The Ottawa Police Service says the fire in the historic Connaught building a few blocks from Parliament Hill started early Sunday morning before it was extinguished by the sprinkler system.

CRA spokeswoman Sylvie Branch says no one was injured, but that the building did suffer a broken window along with smoke and water damage.

Daniel Joseph Groulx is in custody pending a bail hearing after being arrested and charged with one count each of arson, possession of an incendiary material and mischief to property.

The CRA is responsible for collecting federal taxes as well as delivering a number of different federal benefit programs and overseeing the registration of charities in Canada.

It has been heavily involved in disbursing billions of dollars in assistance to Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic, and more recently asked some people to return money they weren’t eligible for.