(Ottawa) The Auditor General is unable to determine the exact cost of ArriveCan given the poor accounting records of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), she notes in a devastating report unveiled Monday. Karen Hogan still estimates that the application, which initially cost $80,000, cost taxpayers around $59.5 million.
“Many of the questions that parliamentarians and the Canadian public ask about the ArriveCan application remain unanswered,” she notes. The lack of information to support spending and decisions related to ArriveCan has compromised accountability. »
The ArriveCan application, developed in the emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic, was initially expected to cost $80,000 for its three versions for iPhones, Android devices and a website. However, it required 177 updates between its launch at the end of April 2020 until the lifting of health measures in October 2022.
Travelers were required to indicate their vaccination status and contact information upon arrival in Canada. Its use is no longer compulsory since 1er October 2022, but it can still be used to make customs and immigration declarations at major airports across the country.
The Auditor General’s report highlights numerous gaps and weaknesses at all stages of the project, from design, monitoring and finally reporting.
She notes that 18% of the invoices audited in her sample did not contain enough information for her to determine whether they were expenses related to ArriveCan or another project.
“We found that in many cases, detailed information about the work performed was not included on the invoices and related timesheets submitted by contractors that the Agency had approved,” she wrote.
The largest share of the 59.5 million went to the consulting firm GC Strategies to which the government paid 19.1 million, according to estimates by the Auditor General. The awarding of the first contract to this company is however unclear since there is no documentation on the discussions to this effect which “resulted in a non-competitive process”.
The CBSA has launched an investigation into the conduct of some of its employees in this matter. She also transferred certain information to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.