In a statement of claim filed in the Federal Court, the privately held telco accused the Canada Revenue Agency of wrongly withholding tens of millions of dollars in sales-tax refunds and stymieing its attempts to challenge the decisions—which came right as the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020. The CRA has not yet filed a defence. (The Logic)

Talking point: In the suit, which was first reported by The Globe and Mail, Iristel says the CRA suspected it was somehow implicated in a “carousel scheme”—a fraudulent way of avoiding federal sales tax involving chains of vendors in which none of them finally pays the government. Iristel alleges that even though there was no proof it was complicit, the CRA refused more than $86 million in credits and said it was the telco that owed the tax agency. Iristel was denied pandemic supports, the suit claims, and the company has previously complained it didn’t have the money to fully participate in last year’s 5G spectrum auction. It’s seeking $275 million in damages.