Ottawa (Feb 12) – A report from Auditor General has slammed the Justin Trudeau government for ‘glaring disregard’ of ‘basic management and contracting practices’ in connect with the ArriveCAN application.
Auditor General Karen Hogan’s report tabled today in the House of Commons concludes that the Canada Border Services Agency, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and Public Services and Procurement Canada failed to follow good management practices in the contracting, development, and implementation of the ArriveCAN application.
The application was created to digitally collect traveler contact and health information when they entered Canada during the COVID‑19 pandemic.
“Public servants must always be transparent and accountable to Canadians for their use of public funds”, said Hogan.” “Many questions that Parliamentarians and Canadians are asking cannot be answered. The lack of information to support ArriveCAN spending and decisions has compromised accountability.”
The audit estimated that the ArriveCAN application cost approximately $59.5 million but emphasized that the exact cost was impossible to calculate because of the Canada Border Services Agency’s poor financial record keeping. The agency’s decision to continue relying on external resources throughout the application’s development, launch and updates, beyond the initial pandemic crisis, increased costs and brings into question the value achieved for money spent.
The lack of documentation and controls extended to contracting practices. The audit found that the Canada Border Services Agency’s disregard for policies, controls, and transparency in the contracting process limited opportunities for competition and undermined value for money. There was little documentation to support how and why GC Strategies was awarded the initial ArriveCAN contract through a non‑competitive process. Evidence indicated that GC Strategies was involved in setting the requirements that the Canada Border Services Agency later used to tender a competitive contract.
The audit found that Canada Border Services Agency managed contracts poorly, again raising concerns about value for money. Essential information, such as clear deliverables and required qualifications, was missing from contracts. Canada Border Services Agency routinely approved and paid invoices that contained little or no details on the work completed.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre lashed out at the prime minister.
“And after eight years of Justin Trudeau, while you can’t pay your bills, where you can’t afford a home, he’s taken 60 million of your tax dollars and given it to a corrupt app, ArriveScam – that doesn’t work, that we didn’t need, and that went 750 times overbudget,” Polievre said in a written statement.
“He took 60 million of your dollars and put it into this ArriveScam, think of that, when you see homeless people, who can’t afford a place to live – Justin Trudeau took their money for this ArriveScam app. Common sense Conservatives told him not to do ArriveScam, but he went ahead anyway,” the Conservative leader added.
