OTTAWA – Former Public Safety Minister Bill Blair’s chief of staff categorically denied delaying the approval of a CSIS electronic and entry warrant application allegedly targeting an influential Liberal powerbroker in 2021 during public testimony Wednesday.

Speaking at the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference (PIFI) on Wednesday evening, former senior Liberal aide Zita Astravas repeatedly said claims she “slow walked” the warrant authorization for political reasons were “categorically false.”