Report on ArriveCAN app finds glaring disregard for basic management and contracting practices

OTTAWA, ON: A report from Auditor General Karen Hogan tabled in the House of Commons concluded that the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), 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. On 29 April 2020, the CBSA launched ArriveCAN to collect contact and health information from travellers and assist with quarantine measures
“I am deeply concerned by what this audit didn’t find. We didn’t find records to accurately show how much was spent on what, who did the work, or how and why contracting decisions were made. And that paper trail should have existed. Overall, this audit shows a glaring disregard for basic management and contracting practices throughout ArriveCAN’s development and implementation,” said Hogan in her opening statement.
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. “We found that 18% of invoices submitted by contractors that we tested did not provide enough information to determine whether expenses related to ArriveCAN or another IT project. This made it impossible to accurately attribute costs to projects,” Hogan said.
“While Canadians can’t afford groceries and are struggling to pay their rent, Trudeau took $60 million of your money and wasted it on the ArriveScam app. ArriveCan was originally budgeted for $80,000 but ended up costing Canadians at least $60 million, which is 750 times over budget. Even when it was operational, it mistakenly forced 10,000 Canadians into quarantine. On top of this, the well-connected two-person IT firm GC Strategies was awarded $19 million through contracts nobody else applied for. This is because GC Strategies was allowed to create the requirements for this contract, and made it so no one else fit the requirements. Trudeau Government officials were even invited to whiskey tastings and other luxurious treats from the very contractors that they were paying your money to,” said Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilevere.
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 report also estimated that the average per diem cost for the ArriveCAN external resources was $1,090, whereas the average daily cost for equivalent IT positions in the Government of Canada was $675. The Canada Border Services Agency continued to rely on external resources increasing the cost of the application.
The lack of documentation and controls extended to contracting practices. The audit found that the CBSA’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 CBSA 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.
“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.”
CBSA in response to the report issues a stamen saying, “The app was built during an extraordinary time and on an emergency basis. ArriveCAN data was an integral part of Canada’s monitoring program for the early detection and identification of new COVID-19 variants of concern, and critical to the federal government’s ability to monitor, assess, and respond to COVID-19 as it evolved. The CBSA was working as quickly as possible to replace a paper process that was not meeting public health needs and was also impacting the border with significant wait times that disrupted the essential flow of people and goods.”